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Light on the 
Old Testament 
from Babel 



By 

ALBERT T. CLAY, Ph.D. 

V 
Assistant Professor of Semitic Philology and Archaeology, and 
Assistant Curator of the Babylonian Section, Department 
of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania. 



$fc 



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Philadelphia 

The Sunday School Times Company 
1907 



*>s° 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS' 
Two Copies Received 

IAN 26 1907 

Copyright Entry 

CLASS fi- XXc, No. 

COPY B. 



Copyright, 1906, 

BY 

The Sunday School Times Co. 



/ 



/\ 






TO 



CHARLES ELVIN HAUPT, D.D. 

IN GRATITUDE AND AFFECTION 



PREFACE 

A CONSIDERABLE portion of the material of 

** *• this publication formed the basis of lectures 
delivered at Winona Bible Conference, Mt. Gretna 
Chautauqua, Pocono Pines Assembly, and other 
institutions and churches, besides those given on 
Sunday afternoons in Houston Hall under the au- 
spices of the Christian Association of the University 
of Pennsylvania. 

In addition to the discussion of the cuneiform 
inscriptions in these lectures, which bear more par- 
ticularly upon the Old Testament, several chapters 
(VII, VIII, XII, and XV) have been included 
on life in ancient Babylonia. Besides facts published 
by others, these chapters include a presentation of 
certain discussions of general interest which I have 
published in a more technical form in the series : " The 
Babylonian Expedition of the University of Penn- 
sylvania. ' These chapters, however, also contain 
much material that appears for the first time. 

The scholar whose privilege it is to labor upon 
the ancient records of the past cannot but feel under 



PREFACE 

deep obligations, not only to the explorer who by 
his unselfish devotion and sacrifice has unearthed 
them, but to the men who have made possible by 
their generosity and intelligent interest this opening 
up to the light of day of these remains of ancient 
peoples in the land of primitive civilization — appar- 
ently the cradle of the universe. To these I desire 
to express my gratitude, and also to those who in 
any way have aided me in the publication of these 
lectures, notably Mr. William H. Witte, Assistant 
in the Babylonian Section of the Department of 
Archeology of the University of Pennsylvania, a great 
many of whose photographs are used to illustrate 
these lectures ; to Mr. Clarence S. Fisher, the architect 
of the Nippur excavations, for the excellent plan 
of the Temple Ekur; to my friend Mr. Hermann 
Faber, Professor of Art ; and also to The Sunday 
School Times Company for their kind co-operation 
in securing typographical accuracy for these lectures. 

Albert T. Clay. 



CONTENTS 



I PAGES 

Introductory Remarks 1-22 

II 
The Great Antiquity of Man 2 3 - 58 

III 
The Babylonian Creation Story 59 - 76 

IV 
The Babylonian Deluge Story 7 7-88 

V 

The Tower of Babel and the Babylonian 

Temple 89-124 

VI 
The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 125-144 

VII 

Babylonian Life in the Days of Abraham 145-200 

VIII 
Code of Hammurabi 201—222 

IX 
Moses and Hammurabi 223-234 

X 

The Name Jahweh in Cuneiform Literature .. 235-250 

XI 

The Amarna Letters 251-282 

vii 



Contents 

xii pages 

Babylonian Temple Records of the Second 

Millennium Before Christ 283-312 

XIII 
The Assyrian Historical Inscriptions 313-360 

XIV 
The Neo-Babylonian Historical Inscriptions . . 361-389 

XV 

Babylonian Life in the Days of Ezra and 

Nehemiah 390-429 

• • • 

Vlll 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Amraphel of Genesis in bas-relief 128 

(British Museum. Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Arab workmen digging tablets 57 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Aramaic endorsements on documents of Murashft Sons. . . . 402 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Archaic arch of Nippur 35 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Ashurbanipal as the high priest or canephorus 355 

(From the catalogue of the British Museum.) 
(By permission of the Trustees.) 

Asphalt spring near Hit 94 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Baby rattles in terra-cotta 195 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Belshazzar, Chronicle recording the death of. ... 374 

(Delitzsch-Hagen, Beitrdge zur Assyriologie.) 

Besieging a walled city, The Assyrians 315 

(British Museum. Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Brick-makers in Egypt 273 

(From Ball, " Light from the East.") 

(By permission of Eyre and Spottiswoode.) 

Brick-stamps of Sargon I and Naram-Sin 119 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Bronze head from Fara 54 

(Possession of H. V. Hilprecht.) 

Case tablets of the Cassite period, containing seal impres- 
sions 173 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Cattle and sheep leased by Temple officials, Records of ... . 297 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Centaur, The earliest known form of the 174 

(Drawn by the Author.) 

IX 



List of Illustrations 

PAGE 

Creation epic of the Babylonians 68 

(From King, " Seven Tablets of Creation.") 
(By permission of Luzac & Co.) 

Cyrus, Cylinder of 383 

(British Museum. Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Cyrus, Portrait sculpture of 385 

(From Lindl, "Cyrus.") 

Darius, cylinder seal of 387 

(British Museum.) (By permission of Eyre & Spottiswoode.) 

Deed with an Aramaic endorsement 395 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Deluge tablet of the Babylonians 79 

(British Museum. Photograph from a cast.) 

Dog and her puppies in terra-cotta. 391 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Door-socket of Gimil-Sin, found at Ur of the Chaldees .... 198 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Dragon of Babylon in tiles . 381 

(Delitzsch, Btbel und Babel.) 

Dragon of Nippur 380 

(Constantinople Museum. Photograph by Haynes.) 

Dungi and Kuri-Galzu, Inscription of 286 

(From Hilprecht, " Old Babylonian Inscriptions, Part I.") 

Entemena, Silver vase of 53 

(From Heuzey, Decouvertes en Chaldee.) 

Esarhaddon holding biblical Tirhakah and Baal with thongs 3 53 

(Berlin Museum.) 

Evil-Merodach, Tablet dated in the reign of, biblical 370 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Excavations in the Temple court at Nippur 27 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Excavations in the Temple precincts to virgin soil 36 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Excavations showing pavements of different ages 29 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Excavations within the Temple Area at Nippur . . Frontispiece 
(Photograph by Haynes.) 

X 



List of Illustrations 

PAGE 

Fight of Mard.uk and Tiamtu 65 

(From Ball, " Light from the East.") 
(By permission of Eyre & Spottiswoode.) 

Furnace of the time of Abraham 192 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Garden scene of Ashurbanipal 356 

(British Museum. Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Gilgamesh epic, Seal impression with scene of 86 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Grinding corn in the Arab camp at Nippur, A woman .... 144 

(Photograph by Haynes .) 

Gudea, Stone vase of 113 

(Museum at Constantinople. Photograph by Haynes.) 

Gudea, Statue of 161 

(From Heuzey, Decouvertes en Chaldee.) 

Hunting scene of an Assyrian king 358 

(British Museum. Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Home scene in the Arab camp at Nippur 282 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Heads of dolerite statues found at Telloh 159 

(From Heuzey, Decouvertes en Chaldee.) 

Hammurabi, Clay cone of 129 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Images or household gods of Bel and Beltis 194 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Incantation bowls in Hebrew and Mandaic 409 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Jehu paying tribute, Bas-relief depicting 323 

(Photograph from a cast.) 

Jeweler's guarantee concerning the setting of an emerald. . 412 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Kudur-Mabug, Bronze canephorus dedicated to Nana by. . 134 

(Berlin Museum. Photograph from cast.) 

Labels or tags in clay 157 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

xi 



List of Illustrations 

PAGE 

Lease of fish-ponds in which the agent exacted a mess of 

fish each day 415 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Lion of Babel in tiles 366 

(Delitzsch, Bibel und Babel.) 

Lugal-kigubuidudu, Votive slab of 45 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Lugal-zaggisi, Inscription of 139 

(From Hilprecht, " Old Babylonian Inscriptions.") 

Marble head, Early Sumerian 37 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Marduk and Ramman 367 

(Report of the " Deutschen Orient Gesellschaft.") 

Merneptah mentioning Israel, Stele of 277 

(From Petrie, " Six Temples at Thebes.") 

Merodach-Baladan, Boundary stone with the picture of 

biblical 340 

(Berlin Museum.) 

Models of different systems of drainage 191 

(Made by C. S. Fisher. Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Moon-god Sin, Seal cylinder impression of Ur-Engur, who 

stands before the 199 

(Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Mound covering Nippur tower 107 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Multiplication table: 18x1 = 18 189 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Musicians, Bas-relief in stone depicting 165 

(From Heuzey, Decouvertes en Chaldee.) 

Nabonidus, containing a prayer for Belshazzar, Cylinder of 372 
(British Museum, Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Nabopolassar, referring to Tower of Babel, Building in- 
scription of 122 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Nebuchadrezzar, Brick of 363 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

xii 



List of Illustrations 

PAGE 

Nebuchadrezzar, Inscribed brick of 363 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Nebuchadrezzar, referring to the Tower of Babel, Cylinder of 368 
(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

" Ninib " in Aramaic, Name of 401 

Original tablet illustrating the impressing of the stylus.. . . 170 
(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Pavements laid by Ashurbanipal, Kadashman-Turgu and 

Ur-Ninib 29 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Payments made to temples in Nippur, Records of 311 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Payments of Temple stipends 305 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Payments to priests showing check marks, Records of 309 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Pithom, the store-city, Map of 269 

(From Naville, " The Store-city of Pithom.") 

(By permission of Egyptian Exploration Fund Committee.) 

Plan of buildings in Tablet Hill 183 

(By C. S. Fisher.) 

Plan of Ekur at Nippur . 114 

(By C. S. Fisher.) 

Prayer of Nazi-Maruttash 287 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Putting out the eyes of a prisoner 365 

(From Maspero, " The Passing of the Empires.") 
(By permission of D. Appleton & Co.) 

Receipts and Records of Payments belonging to the Tem- 
ple archives 307 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Reference cylinders from the Temple School of Nippur.. . . 185 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Release given for and on account of a claim for damages, 
Document recording a 426 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

xiii 



List of Illustrations 

PAGE 

Sargon and his officer 336 

(From Price, " The Monuments and the Old Testament.") 
(By permission.) 

Sargon I, Door-socket of 31 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Scene of the Fall of Man, So-called 83 

(British Museum. Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Seals and Seal-cylinders 172 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Sennacherib, Cylinder containing the annals of 345 

(British Museum. Photograph by Clarke and Davies.) 
(By permission of the Trustees.) 

Sennacherib seated before Lachish 350 

(From the catalogue of the British Museum.) 
(By permission of the Trustees.) 

Shalmaneser II, Black obelisk of 320 

(British Museum. Photograph from cast.) 

Sheep's liver in terra-cotta, Design of a n 

(From "Cuneiform Texts," British Museum, Vol. XV.) 
(By permission of the Trustees.) 

Shrine of Bel io ^ 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Sisiktu marks instead of seal impressions 176 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Sixty-year lease of lands and buildings 411 

(Possession of H. V. Hilprecht.) 

Statues in dolerite from Telloh 1 63 

(From Heuzey, Decouvertes en Chaldee.) 

Storming of Lachish by Sennacherib 349 

(From Ball, " Light from the East.") 
(By permission of Eyre & Spottiswoode.) 

Stylus, Beveled end 169 

(Made by the author.) 

Stylus, Square end 169 

(Made by the author.) 

Tablet and envelope 177 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

xiv 



List of Illustrations 

PAGE 

Tablet written with beveled end stylus 170 

(By the author.) 

Temple of the moon-god Sin at Ur of the Chaldees 197 

(Photograph by the Wolfe Expedition.) 
(By permission of Dr. W. H Ward.) 

Temple School of Nippur 181 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Temple stipends, Document recording payments of 301 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Temple stipends, Transliteration of document recording 

payments of 302, 303 

(From Clay " Documents from the Temple Archives of Nippur," 
Vol. XIV.) 

The Code of Hammurabi 203 

(Louvre in Paris. Cut loaned by Professor Max Kellner.) 

Thothmes III 272 

(From Maspero, " The Struggle of Nations.") 
(By permission of D. Appleton & Co.) 

Thumb-nail marks instead of seal impressions 175 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Tiglath-pileser or Pul before a besieged city 328 

(British Museum. Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Topographical map of the environs of Nippur 293 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Topographical Map of Nippur in 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Tower of Babel, Simpson's picture of the 101 

(From Ball, " Light from the East.") 
(By permission of Eyre & Spottiswoode.) 

Tower of Ekur, the temple of Bel at Nippur 107 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Ur-Engur, Stamped brick of 105 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania. Photograph by Haynes.) 

Ur-Enlil, Votive slab of 41 

(Original in Constantinople Museum.) 

Ur-Nina, Votive slab of 41 

(From Heuzey, Decouvertes en Chaldee.) 

XV 



List of Illustrations 

PAGE 

Urumush, Marble vase of 46 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Vase fragments, Pre-Sargonic 39 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Water buffalo used in irrigating machines 420 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Water-wheel, or naura in Babylonia 424 

(From Peters, "Nippur.") 

(By permission of G. Putnam & Co.) 

Water-wheel illustrating ancient irrigating machines, 

Modern 422 

(Photograph by the Wolfe Expedition.) 
(By permission of Dr. W. H. Ward.) 

Wine jar lined with bitumen 427 

(Museum, University of Pennsylvania.) 

Winged bulls from the palace of Sargon '. 335 

(British Museum. Photograph by Mansell & Co.) 

Zebu, called the ox by the ancient Babylonians 226 

(Photograph by Haynes.) 

Map of Palestine, Syria, Assyria and Babylonia. 

xvi 




INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

Why is there such an intelligent interest displayed 
in these days in Oriental excavations ? Why are such 
immense funds expended, and such sacrificing 
efforts put forth, in digging up the ruin-hills of the 
past to find perchance the remains of a wall, an 
inscribed object, or a potsherd? Why does arche- 
ology, or the study of the material remains of ancient 
times, possess a charm for so many? And why do 
people delight in having opened up vistas of the past 
through the discoveries of what is left of bygone 
civilizations ? 

A desire to have more knowledge concerning 
biblical matters has been responsible, in most 
instances, for the work of opening up the mounds 
which cover the remains of ancient activities. It 
was felt tha t th e Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians, 
and other nations, having thrived in the days of 
Israel, and having come into close relation with the 
Hebrews, should have left that which would throw 
light upon the Old Testament. Broader questions, 
such as the interdependence of national ideas and 
customs, were scarcely thought of. The question 
uppermost in importance was whether points of 
contact could be found, and the Bible verified ; and 



2 Light on the Old Testament 

every scholar who has worked upon material from 
which there was a possibility that such revelations 
might come forth, has longingly searched for the 
desired data. And when we glance over the tro- 
phies gained by sacrifice, industry, patience, and 
skill, we must exclaim: What a change has been 
wrought within a few decades by the explorer, the 
excavator, the archeologist, and the philologist! 

Not many years ago little was known of extra- 
biblical history of the age prior to the days of 
Greece and Rome. The conception of these times 
was largely based upon the Old Testament and the 
uncertain myths and legends which have been pre- 
served by the Greeks and Romans. These furnished 
all the knowledge which we possessed of the early 
history of man. But now we have original sources. 
The resurrection of ancient cities, and the decipher- 
ment and interpretation of that which has been 
unearthed, has enabled us not only to reconstruct 
ancient history, as well as the background for the 
Old Testament, but to illustrate, elucidate, sub- 
stantiate, and corroborate many of the narratives 
of the early Scriptures. This, in truth, is one of the 
greatest achievements of the last century. 

The right interpretation of the Old Testament, 
of course, is the greatest service rendered by the 
monuments, but the average Bible student has 
regarded the confirmation of the Scriptures as being, 
perhaps, of greater importance. Corroborative 
evidence of a contemporaneous character has been 



Introductory Remarks 3 

in the highest degree welcome, especially because of 
the declarations made by the skeptic or by the 
destructive critic. Immense results in this line have 
been achieved. Episodes which have been affirmed 
to belong wholly to the realm of fiction, or which 
have been regarded as mythical or legendary in 
character, are now proved to be historical, beyond 
doubt. Many theories, even those put forth by 
careful and conservative students, have been modi- 
fied, and many supposed inconsistencies have been 
satisfactorily explained. Some theories growing 
out of alleged results achieved by certain scholars, 
being no longer tenable because of their ephemeral 
character, have completely disappeared. In short, 
while some scholars have endeavored to show 
portions of the Old Testament wholly fictitious, 
many of their theories, by the help of archeology 
and philology, can now be shown to be wholly 
fallacious. On the other hand, there has been much 
grasping after verifications by some which, in many 
cases, have turned out to be illusory ; and as a result, 
their supposed confirmations, having been popu- 
larized and widely circulated, have done more harm 
than good. 

There is scarcely a period of Old Testament 
history that has not received some light through 
these researches. It is as though additional chron- 
icles of the kings of Israel and Judah have been 
found. The bare outlines of ancient history pre- 
served in the Old Testament are clothed in such a 



4 Light on the Old Testament 

way as to offer pictures realistic in the extreme. 
Episodes, passages, words, receive new meanings. 
Acquaintance with the religious institutions of the 
nations with whom Israel came in contact has 
offered a better understanding of Israel's religion; 
and incidentally many questions, as, for example, 
their besetting sin — proneness to idolatry — receive 
new light. In short, the study of the life and customs 
of these foreign peoples shows certain influences 
that were felt in Israel; and with this increased 
knowledge we naturally gain a more intelligent 
understanding of the Old Testament. 

While these researches have caused many diffi- 
culties to vanish, the fact must not be lost sight of 
that they have given rise to new problems. While, 
also, much contemporary evidence has been pro- 
duced which corroborates the historical character 
of portions of the Old Testament, certain discoveries 
have given a totally different conception of other 
portions, forcing us to lay aside a number of anti- 
quated views, and to reconstruct our ideas on many 
important questions. Old interpretations which 
have been copied or revised by a succession of 
commentators, and have been handed down from 
century to century, disappear; and that which 
approaches nearer to the truth becomes known. 
This increased light is, of course, heartily welcomed 
by the biblical student, and is regarded as being of 
inestimable value, as it makes possible a better 
understanding of the Scriptures. 



Introductory Remarks 5 

Perhaps the most fascinating feature of the 
results gained through these studies is the retro- 
spective glances afforded into the early doings of 
man. While we are disappointed in not being able 
to reach still nearer the primitive beginnings, our 
knowledge of the history of man has been projected 
backward several thousand years, and is attended 
by many surprises. We find that cultured peoples 
antedated Israel by millenniums; and that instead 
of Abraham's descendants belonging to the dawn of 
history, they lived in the late pre-Christian period. 
Instead of Israel being an all-powerful nation of 
antiquity, we find that, with the exception of the 
time in the days of David and Solomon when the 
borders of the nation were temporarily extended, 
it scarcely can be classed with such world-conquering 
powers as Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Persia, and 
other nations. Yet, while Israel politically is not 
to be compared with some of her illustrious neigh- 
bors, intellectually and spiritually the nation is 
found to stand in a unique position. 

Another important result is the new historical 
geography which has been reconstructed, with its 
thousands of additional data. Hundreds of im- 
portant points have been located definitely, whose 
provenience previously could only be surmised, or 
for which no reasonable position could be assigned. 
As a result, the number of places and rivers in the 
Old Testament concerning which nothing is known 
at the present time is comparatively small. By our 



6 Light on the Old Testament 

knowledge of the nations surrounding Israel, its 
historical setting is worked out in a remarkable way. 
The improved perspective for many of the episodes 
gives them a totally different aspect. Peoples of 
whom we have had little or no knowledge are again 
introduced into the galaxy of nations. We become 
familiar with their language, their religious institu- 
tions, their local habitations, their conquests, and 
even their every-day life. Personalities loom up 
among their leaders which appear to be equal in 
greatness with those familiar to us in modern 
history. 

One of the most important results obtained is the 
knowledge that Israel enjoyed — in common with 
other peoples — certain social, political, and religious 
institutions, as well as rites and customs. This 
knowledge, at first thought, is disturbing to some, 
especially when told that that which has been re- 
garded as peculiarly Hebraic in character had its 
origin in antiquity. To cite a single example, 
circumcision was practised long before the patri- 
archs. Professor W. Max Muller has recently 
ascertained that the Egyptians circumcised at least 
2500 B. C. 

After some reflection this truth, instead of causing 
apprehension, enables us to understand how it was 
possible for the leaders of Israel to influence the 
people. It is impossible to imagine how unheard-of 
rites and ceremonies could have been introduced in 
Israel, even though one divinely sent advocated 



Introductory Remarks 7 

their practise. With some, also, it cannot be inferred 
that the leaders directly borrowed these rites and 
customs from their contemporaries, especially in 
view of the injunction they received: " After the 
doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall 
ye not do : and after the doings of the land of 
Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; 
neither shall ye walk in their statutes" (Lev. 
18:3). The people were required to shun the prac- 
tises of these peoples; but what shall be said con- 
cerning such customs, manners, and traditions, that 
for centuries during the patriarchal period had 
gradually crept into the Hebrew life and remained 
with it? By making use of customs with which they 
were acquainted, and giving them a significance that 
conveyed the truth which the leaders desired Israel 
to have, the success attending their practise is 
comprehensible. This becomes clearer when we 
take into consideration the intellectual status of 
the people, and the fact that, as far as we know, there 
were no efforts put forth to elevate them prior to 
the leadership of Moses. 

The people of Israel, we must remember, developed 
into a tribal nation in a land which was enriched 
by the traditions' and civilizations of peoples living 
there at least several millenniums before them. 
This land was a highway between two continents — 
a bridge or a path of communication between the 
civilizations of the Tigro-Euphrates valley and the 
Nile ; and at the same time it was the outlet to the 



8 Light on the Old Testament 

Mediterranean Sea from the Great Arabian peninsula. 
Its position, surrounded by influences from three 
continents, had a peculiar effect upon the land. 
The varied topography of the country offered accom- 
modations for peoples who preferred either an alpine 
or a tropical climate. Petty principalities existed, 
having little or no connection with each other. 
As a result, the land prior to the days of Israel, 
with the exception of the Phoenician cities, did not, 
as far as we know, develop or enjoy a pronounced 
type of culture, as did other nations about it. 
Although many antiquities of the early period have 
been found through the excavations in Palestine, 
there is little or nothing to show that an indigenous 
art existed, as is found, for instance, in Egypt or 
in Babylonia. Centers may be found, after excava- 
tions have been more extensively conducted in 
Palestine, which will bring to light a highly de- 
veloped cult that will surprise us; but the indica- 
tions of such, thus far, are lacking. Practically 
the only indigenous literary heritage that we possess 
of the early period in the history of the land, besides 
some of the Amarna tablets, is what is contained 
in the Old Testament writings. Notwithstanding 
this lack of evidence of an advanced civilization, it 
seems reasonable to conjecture that there did exist 
a civilization of no mean order ; and also that the 
Israelites were influenced more by the life surround- 
ing them in Palestine than from any other quarter. 
-k Abram's home was the city Ur in Southern 



Introductory Remarks 9 

Babylonia. His direct descendants obtained their 
wives in that part of Syria or Armenia which in 
certain periods was embraced by Babylonia. They 
even regarded themselves as Arameans. In later 
years an Israelite, in presenting his first-fruits, 
said : " An Aramean ready to perish was my father " 
(i. e., Jacob, Deut. 26:5). Further, it is not improba- 
ble that Abram or his ancestors had originally 
migrated from Syria to Ur, and belonged to the 
Western Semites who had congregated in Babylonia 
in great numbers during the first dynasty (see 
Chap. VII). Although centuries of nomadic life in 
the West, where the family developed into a nation, 
would imply that the people were greatly influenced 
by their environments, it is reasonable to suppose 
that they had also preserved traditions and customs 
belonging to their Eastern home. To Babylonia, 
therefore, we also look for influences which have 
molded to a certain extent the thought and lives 
of Israel. This seems natural, especially when we 
consider that the scenes of the events recorded in 
the Old Testament as having taken place prior to 
Abram are pitched in that region from which the 
father of Israel came. 

More striking than all else are the inscriptions 
which record the creation and deluge legends of the 
Babylonians (see Chaps. Ill and IV) as well as 
those which throw light on the story of Babel 
(Chap. V). The Hammurabi Code, which ante- 
dates the Mosaic, has the same underlying spirit 



10 Light on the Old Testament 

of retaliation (see Chap. IX). This, however, seems, 
to be common to all ancient as well as modern 
Orientals. Divination, for example, by inspecting 
the livers of animals offered on the altar of the gods, 
seems to be Babylonian 1 . This fact throws light on 
Ezekiel 21:21, where we read: " For the king of 
Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head 
of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the 
arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he 
looked in the liver." The reason why the Hebrews 
were prohibited from using a portion of the liver of 
the sacrificial animal (see Exod. 29: 13; Lev. 3:4; 
9: 10, etc.) was doubtless a protest against its use 
for divination purposes 2 . The words Joseph put into 
the mouth of his steward : "Is not this that [the cup] 
in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed 
divineth?" (Gen. 44:5), are doubtless also Baby- 
lonian, and perhaps have some connection with 
their " Becherwahrsagung." Naturally, this may 
have been practised as well in Egypt. 

It is possible to find certain ceremonials in the 
Babylonian ritual which have their parallel in the 
Old Testament 3 . As, for instance, the Babylonian 
set before his deity twelve loaves of unleavened 

1 See Jastrow, Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens, Vol. 
II, Chap. 20, for a full exposition of liver divination among the 
Babylonians. 

2 See Professor Moore's article in Noldecke, Festschrift. 

3 See Haupt, Babylonian Elements in the Levitic Ritual, 
Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. for 1900, p. 55ff. 



Introductory Remarks 



11 



showbread, again thirty-six, or seventy-two; in 
other words, multiples of twelve. In Leviticus 




Design of a sheep's liver in terra-cotta, with the surface divided into compart- 
ments, and inscribed with miscellaneous omens, prepared for instruction in divin- 
ation methods in the Temple schools. Found near Bagdad. 



twelve loaves were laid before Jahweh. Although 
it is not mentioned in the Old Testament, Jewish 



12 Light on the Old Testament 

traditions unanimously affirm that the bread was 
unleavened, the same as in Babylonia. With 
them the number twelve represented the tribes; 
and the offering was made "on behalf of the 
children of Israel, an everlasting covenant." (Lev. 

24 :sff.) 

A ritual tablet 1 shows that the Babylonian 
sprinkled the blood of the lamb which was killed 
at the gate ot the palace "on the lintels, on the 
figures flanking the entrances, and on the door- 
posts at the right and left." This act is recognized 
as having its parallel in the passover rite of the 
Hebrews. Yet, as the late Dr. Trumbull has 
shown, 2 the passover is based upon the ancient 
threshold covenant, which goes back to a very 
great antiquity, and which was practised by other 
ancient peoples as well as by the Babylonians. For 
Israel this old rite received a new significance. It 
was to be observed thereafter as a memorial of the 
deliverance of Israel from bondage. 

The Babylonian priest required certain parts of 
the sacrifice for himself, which we know was the 
custom also among the Hebrews (Deut. 18:3). The 
parts that were retained by the Babylonian differ 
from those kept by the Israelite priest. This custom, 
however, is known to have been practised also by 
other peoples. Another similar feature of the 

1 See Haupt, Babylonian Elements in the Levitic Ritual, 
Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. for 1900, p. 61. 

2 Threshold Covenant, p. 2o8ff. 



Introductory Remarks 13 

Babylonian sacrifice was the requirement that the 
animal be without blemish. Also, the poor man 
was permitted to make an offering of less value than 
the wealthy, the same as provided for in Israel. 

Many other interesting suggestions have been 
made from time to time which cannot be subjected 
to an adequate test by reason of the fact that too 
little is understood either of the rite or custom itself, 
or that with which it is compared, but which can be 
said to lie within the range of possibility. For 
instance, the Hebrew hoshen mishpat, "breastplate 
of judgment," in which the Urim and Thummim 
were kept, has been compared with the Assyrian 
takdlta ska pirishti shame u ersiti, 1 which is trans- 
lated, "the pouch of the mystery of heaven and 
earth." Besides there being great uncertainty as 
regards the meaning of takdlta, which is recognized, 
there is the mere resemblance of the idea of a 
"sacred pouch" containing perhaps that which is 
indicative of the deity's will, upon which the oracle 
is based. 

Any suggestion which will open up avenues of 
thought and investigation whereby a better under- 
standing of biblical matters is acquired, must be 
heartily welcomed. But, after all that is known 
up to the present time has been gathered together, 
and its importance properly estimated, we are 



1 See Haupt, Babylonian Elements in the Levitic Ritual, 
Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. for 1900, p. 59. 



14 Light on the Old Testament 

impressed with the fact that there have been many 
extravagant statements made, and there is not 
such a great deal, after all, that Israel was directly 
indebted to the Babylonians for, beyond the stories 
in Genesis of the times prior to Abram, and also cer- 
tain customs which belong to the period after the 
Babylonian exile. 

There are those who greatly overestimate the 
influence of Babylonia upon Israel. They say that 
practically everything belonging to the functions of 
the priest has come from this source; that "if we 
want to trace the origin of the late Jewish ceremonial 
of the Priest Code we must look for it in the cunei- 
form ritual texts of the Assyro-Babylonians." To 
substantiate such extreme views, and to make them 
intelligible, it will be necessary to produce many 
additional facts. 

Professor Zimmern, 1 and others identify the 
Hebrew cherubim with the Assyrian bull colossi. 
This, however, rests only on supposed fancied resem- 
blances. It is limited to both having wings in 
common, and the fact that the bull-gods were the 
guardians of temple gates, while the cherubim were 
placed eastward of Eden. Beyond these resem- 
blances all other details are different. As has been 
said: 2 "If the idea of the cherubim was borrowed 



1 Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament, p. 529 f. 

2 Foote, The Cherubim and the Ark, Journal of the American 
Oriental Society, vol. xxv., p. 285. 



Introductory Remarks 15 

from the Babylonians it must be admitted that it 
had become so thoroughly Hebraized as to be no 
longer recognizable. " 

It has been stated again and again that the 
Babylonians observed the seventh day, which they 
called the Sabbath, as a rest day. The proof for 
the assertion was found in a syllabary which ex- 
plains the words um-nuh, libbi," day of rest of the 
heart," by the word sha-bat-tum. This has gener- 
ally been regarded as being the origin of the Hebrew 
Sabbath. But it has since been ascertained 1 from a 
list, which gives the Sumerian and Babylonian days 
of the month, that shabatti or shapatti was the Baby- 
lonian name for the fifteenth day of the month. 
This word does not have anything to do with the 
Hebrew shabdt, "to rest," but is explained as a 
synonym of the Babylonian garnaru" to complete." 

But the Babylonians did observe the seventh, 
fourteenth, twenty-first, twenty-eighth, as well as 
the nineteenth day of their lunar month. It was 
UD.HUL.GAL or umu limnu, " the evil day. " Upon 
this day the Hebrew Sabbath may in some respect 
be based. It was, however, not observed every 
seventh day like the Hebrew Sabbath, for some 
months had thirty days. It was not a day of rest 
for the common people, but was observed, as far 
as we know, only by the king and his officials ; when 
they were prohibited from eating meat that had 

1 See Pinches, The Old Testament, etc., p 526^. 



16 Light on the Old Testament 

touched the fire; when they could not change their 
garments, dress in white, offer sacrifices, mount a 
chariot, pronounce judgment, or the physician touch 
a sick man. The day was unauspicious for doing 
business. In the night, the king made his offering 
to the gods, when they were appeased. While the 
Babylonians observed such a day, we cannot there- 
fore, agree with those who claim that we owe the 
blessings contained in the Sabbath (Sunday) rest 
to the ancient Babylonian civilization, as their day 
was observed quite differently. If the idea of the 
rest-day was taken over from the Babylonians, like 
other institutions whose origin can be traced among 
peoples prior to Israel, it received an entirely dif- 
ferent character. The Israelites themselves, in 
explaining its origin, we must keep in mind, made 
it coincident with the last creation day (Gen. 2:3). 
Politically, Babylonia has played an important 
role in Palestine. The earliest reference to the 
Westland which has been found in the inscriptions 
is on the votive vases of Lugal-zaggisi, about 4000 
B. C. He informs us that he conquered the land, 
and extended his dominion unto the Mediterranean 
Sea (see page 138). Sargon I, about 3800 B. C, 
conducted several campaigns in this region, when 
he completely subjugated the people. He erected 
his image on the shores of the Mediterranean. 
Naram-Sin, about 3750 B. C, marched against 
Midian and the Sinai tic peninsula. In the latter 
region he developed the famous copper mines. 



Introductory Remarks 17 

Gudea, about 3000 B. C, imported diorite from 
Sinai, and other kinds of stone from the Amorite 
land, besides cedars from Lebanon; which facts 
show at least close relations with that part of the 
country. 

In Abraham's time, we learn that Elam claimed 
suzerainty over the land. Kudur-Mabug, the 
prince of Emutbal, a part of Elam, used the 
title, "Prince of Amurru" (Palestine). When Ham- 
murabi conquered Larsa and Elam he assumed 
this title. Ammi-ditana, one of his successors, 
continued to enjoy it. Then the curtain falls, and 
the next we learn about the country from extra- 
biblical sources is more than five centuries later, 
in the Tel el-Amarna period, when the land is found 
to be under Egyptian control (see Chapter XI). 
With the predominant political influence of Assyria 
and Babylonia in the first pre-Christian millennium, 
all are familiar. 

Recognizing the fact that Palestine during millen- 
niums had been subject frequently to the nations 
of the East, that Hammurabi had been a remarkable 
administrator, and that his efforts as a legislator 
were such that the code he promulgated continued 
to be effective in Babylonia for many centuries, 
we should naturally suppose that he had also estab- 
lished his laws in all the countries over which he 
ruled, even though some were far removed from 
his seat of government. As far as is known, this 
does not seem to have been the case, at least with 



18 Light on the Old Testament 

Syria. Further, the influence which Babylonian 
culture exerted in Palestine, as it becomes known 
through the Amarna tablets, and in fact through 
all sources of the early period, to be explicit, was 
meager. In these letters a place near Jerusalem 
is mentioned, which was known as Beth-Ninib 
"House of [the Babylonian god] Ninib;" and an 
individual was named Abdi-Ninib. The Baby- 
lonian god Nergal figured prominently as the god 
of disease and death in a letter written in Alashia 
(presumably Cyprus). Then also the god Baal 
and the goddess Ashirta of the Phoenicians are to 
be identified originally with Bel and Ishtar of the 
Babylonian pantheon, while, doubtless, Mt. Sinai 
and Mt. Nebo obtained their names from the gods 
Sin and Nebo. 

These facts would not enable us to prove an ex- 
tensive influence upon Palestine from Babylonia. 
Moreover, the gods of Egypt, Syria, and Mitani 
are also mentioned in these letters. In short, 
Babylonia for many centuries, as well as Egypt 
for a shorter period, exercised control over Palestine, 
and exacted tribute; but these nations do not seem 
to have made any efforts to reorganize the country 
politically, or to establish their own cultures in the 
land. The use of the Babylonian as the diplomatic 
language of the Canaanite princes does not neces- 
sarily prove any extensive influence in that region, 
as some scholars have claimed, because the same 
language was used throughout Western Asia and 



Introductory Remarks 19 

Egypt at that time for the same purpose. French 
may be the diplomatic language spoken in modern 
Bagdad and Constantinople, but its use for that 
purpose would not prove that France exerted any 
special influence in those quarters. Naturally, 
the use of Babylonian in the Amarna age points to 
an extended control and political influence which 
Babylonia exercised over a great territory at some 
previous period. On the other hand, when we 
consider the influence that was exerted by the land 
of the Amorites (which included Palestine) upon 
Babylonia, we might claim the reverse to be true. 
Even the chief god Amurru was introduced into 
the Babylonian pantheon, as was the worship of 
Addu, and other gods, as is shown by their nomen- 
clature, an example of which is the Palestinian 
Dagon in Ishme-Dagan, an Assyrian ruler's name. 
The influence of Babylonia upon Palestine is not 
to be minimized, but it has been greatly exaggerated 
by some scholars with reference to the culture of 
the Hebrews. We are not justified in generalizing 
so freely because of certain things, as, for instance, 
similar laws which are found in the Hammurabi 
and Mosaic codes, which are based on common 
Oriental law, or are to be explained as interesting 
coincidences (see Chap. IX) ; or because of the 
similarity of the creation and deluge stories of 
the Hebrew and Babylonian or, for instance, be- 
cause some weights and measures are found to 
be similar, which was due to the influence of the 



20 Light on the Old Testament 

Babylonian trader. As shown, there are rites and 
ceremonies which have their parallels in the Assyro- 
Babylonian rituals. Further, in the customs of 
the late period, after the Hebrews had been in exile, 
there can be no question that considerable influence 
was felt from that quarter; to mention a single 
illustration, the substitution of the Babylonian 
names of the months for their own. But as has 
also been shown, there is no justification for the 
extravagant assertions concerning the Hebrew cul- 
ture as a whole, which have been made in some of 
the recent Bib el und Babel literature. 

It is to be regretted that we know so little of 
early Palestine and Phoenicia, the countries which 
have directly influenced the Israelites. It is claimed 
by some that the plan of Solomon's temple and its 
ornamentation followed Phoenician models. Yet 
some declare that it is little more than a reproduction 
of a Babylonian sanctuary. It might be interesting 
to see the proofs for these claims, inasmuch as there 
is very little known of Babylonian fanes. 

We must remember that Israel lived in Egypt 
for nearly five centuries during the period of the 
nation's infancy. Although separated from true 
Egyptian life, and under military control, it is 
natural to suppose that a certain percentage of the 
people came into contact with the residents of the 
Nile valley. What is recorded in the Old Testament 
concerning Egypt is found to be a faithful picture. 
Other influences, as yet unrecognized, may have 



Introductory Remarks 21 

come from that direction. But after taking into 
consideration all the supposed influences now known 
from that quarter, we must remark that they are 
exceedingly slight. 

Some may also be looked for from Hittite sources. 
The people of Heth had important settlements in 
Palestine at a very early date. The Syrians from 
Damascus, a very ancient center, also influenced 
the people of Palestine for centuries. What future 
excavations of the ancient cities of the East will 
reveal along this line of investigation, no one can 
surmise. The indications are that very interesting 
parallels in cultures will be found; and the fact 
will be recognized that Israel had much in common 
with other nations, even with those whose antiquity 
was much greater, and that the ordinary influences of 
nations, especially of the greater upon the smaller, 
will be recognized. But beyond that which belongs 
to common Oriental culture which has been handed 
down from time immemorial, little direct borrowing, 
it seems to me, will be found to have been done. 
In other words, such direct and wholesale depend- 
ence upon the Babylonians, as has been claimed 
by some, will not be proved 

On the other hand, when we consider the light 
thrown upon the Hebrew records from Babylonian 
and Assyrian sources by reason of political and social 
contact, we have something of a more positive 
character with which to deal. And it must be a 
source of gratification to many to know that the 



22 Light on the Old Testament 

ruin-hills of the past have yielded so many things 
to prove that much which the skeptic and the nega- 
tive critic have declared to be fiction is veritable 
history. Archeology must ever be given the 
greatest credit for having come to the rescue. When 
we reflect that wherever in the Old Testament 
reference is made to contact with foreign powers, 
and we have been able to delve among the con- 
temporaneous records of those powers in nearly 
every instance, as will be seen in the succeeding 
chapters, reference to such contact with Israel 
has been found — truly every lover of the old Book 
must rejoice. 



II 

THE GREAT ANTIQUITY OF MAN 

The Babylonian legend, as handed down by 
Berosus the Greek historian, claims four hundred 
and thirty-two thousand years for the period prior 
to the deluge, during which time ten kings ruled; 
in other words, each king ruled on an average 
forty-three thousand two hundred years. All are 
more or less familiar with the claims of modern 
scientists that the period for the existence of man 
on earth covers many thousands of years. In the 
discussion contained in the following pages on the 
antiquity of man, only that is taken into considera- 
tion which archeology has revealed. 

For many years it has been known that Egypt 
flourished centuries prior to Abraham; that it had 
an amazingly high civilization, which was old in his 
day ; and that its political institutions were already 
greatly advanced. Few, however, appreciated the 
extent of Egypt's development, especially with 
respect to its great antiquity. The general public 
did not readily accept the conclusions arrived at by 
Egyptologists, but continued to accept Ussher's 
chronology, or other systems which were based upon 
the Septuagint, as being more or less correct. All 
this is now changed. Babylonian archeology throws 

23 



24 Light on the Old Testament 

light upon the subject, and not only is the great 
antiquity claimed by Egyptologists confirmed, but 
our vista of this early age is enlarged in a manner 
surprising in the extreme. Nations and peoples 
of those times are restored to history. Thousands 
of inscriptions are brought to light, by the help of 
which a knowledge of the life and customs of the 
people prior to Abraham's day is unfolded before 
our eyes, changing our entire conception of those 
distant times, and revealing a civilization which had 
advanced in an astonishing degree, centuries before 
the patriarch. Instead of possessing only the names 
of a score or more of individuals between Adam and 
Abram, as are found in Genesis, many thousands 
become known. In a single document, 1 for instance, 
written two thousand years before the patriarch, 
about five hundred names are given. And yet the 
great work of excavating the cities of ancient Baby- 
lonia is only in its infancy. 

Nearly a quarter of a century ago, De Sarsec's 
excavations at Telloh revealed statues and inscrip- 
tions (see page 158) belonging to an age antedating 
by many centuries the old date of the deluge. A 
decade since, on the basis of the excavations by 
the University of Pennsylvania at Nippur, a still 
greater antiquity was definitely fixed for the early 
history of man. And not very long ago Dr. Banks, 
who excavated at Bismya for the University of 

1 The Obelisk of Manishtusu, see page 46. 



The Great Antiquity of Man 25 

Chicago, in the reports of his field work claimed 
even a greater antiquity for what he found. In 
the upper stratum of this city the remains of a very 
early period were brought to light, showing that the 
city had been destroyed perhaps in the early part 
of the third millennium B. C, and that it had never 
been rebuilt. He informs us that beneath the ancient 
temple were various strata, the lowest of which 
he dates several millenniums earlier than the oldest 
date hitherto claimed for any Babylonian ruins. 
Whether his conclusions will stand the test, after 
further investigations have been made, remains to 
be seen. In addition to important explorations con- 
ducted years ago by Loftus, Taylor, and Rassam in 
Babylonia, the German Oriental Society has devoted 
five years to systematic excavations at Babylon, 
Fara, and Abu-Hatab, where important results 
were obtained. 1 

In determining the great antiquity of man in 
Babylonia prior to the days of Abraham, important 
lessons are taught by the University of Pennsylvania 
excavations of the various strata of the mound 
which covers the temple of Bel at Nippur. It has 
been said that twenty-one different strata can be 
traced with certainty in the temple area. This does 
not mean strata in the sense of so many cities, but 

1 For the past two years the Society, under the directorship 
of Professor Frederick Delitzsch, has carried on excavations in 
Assyria where many antiquities of the last two pre-Christian 
millenniums have been found. 



26 Light on the Old Testament 

different levels at which objects have been found. 
The fact is that while a number of pavements 
intersect the mound of the temple, and several 
closely defined strata are perceptible, we cannot 
speak of so many cities, as for instance is done with 
reference to the ancient biblical Lachish, where 
Bliss found eight distinct towns, one superimposed 
upon the other. At Nippur there was a continued 
occupation, as far as is known, from the earliest 
period until the latest. The city was without doubt 
destroyed at times, but the buildings were restored 
and enlarged, especially those in connection with 
the temple. In short, the mounds of Nippur, formed 
through the accumulations of debris, and rising on 
an average of sixty feet above the plain, show a 
number of distinct strata with their respective 
antiquities. These mark different epochs, and 
represent millenniums of building operations. 

When the excavators sent out by the University 
of Pennsylvania approached Nippur, in 1889, the 
high conical mound, rising about ninety feet above 
the plain, was at once recognized as covering the 
temple tower. In the uppermost stratum, the 
remains of the late occupation of the city were found. 
In this stratum were disinterred many Hebrew 
antiquities, such as inscribed incantation bowls 
(see Chap. XV). Below this lay a large fortress 
which had been built upon the temple and ziggurrat 
in the age following the Babylonian period, pre- 
sumably by the Parthians or Romans. In the 







s 
W 



be 

'% 

o 



W 



28 Light on the Old Testament 

ruins of this building are found some walls which 
indicate a slightly earlier construction, showing 
that the structure had been restored. The work 
of Ashurbanipal (668-626 B. C.) lies several feet 
beneath this fortress. In the temple court this 
famous Assyrian ruler laid a pavement of burnt 
bricks, a good many of which were stamped with 
his titles. Two feet below this pavement another 
was discovered. This was laid by Kadashman- 
Turgu, about 1325 B. C. Descending below this, 
another was found which belonged to Ur-Ninib, 
about 2550 B. C. Only two and a half feet of debris 
exist between the pavements of Kadashman-Turgu 
and Ur-Ninib, although that amount represents a 
period of about twelve hundred years. Two feet 
below the pavement of Ur-Ninib, the excavators 
found one laid by Ur-Engur, whose date is fixed at 
about 2700 B. C. But how do we arrive at the date 
approximately assigned to this royal builder? 

Assuming that Amraphel, the contemporary of 
Abraham, is to be identified with Hammurabi, 
2100 B. C. (see page 130), and knowing that he 
was the sixth king of his dynasty, and also that the 
number of years his predecessors ruled was one 
hundred and twenty, we have the date for the 
beginning of the first dynasty of Babylon. It was 
contemporaneous with the second dynasty of Ur, or 
Larsa dynasty, which lasted several hundred years. 
This followed in order the dynasty of Isin, and the 
first dynasty of Ur. The number of years or cen- 




Pavements laid by Ashurbanipal, Kadashman-Turgu and Ur-Ninib. 




Workman removing the pavement containing bricks with the titles of Sargon and Naram-Sin. 



30 Light on the Old Testament 

turies assigned to these dynasties, from the num- 
ber of known rulers, and the length of their re- 
spective reigns, cannot be fixed. Although it is 
assumed that some of these dynasties were partially 
contemporaneous, a reasonable conjecture is that 
five or six hundred years intervened. While several 
of the dynasties are comparatively well- represented 
by known kings, the names of a number of addi- 
tional rulers must be forthcoming before this period 
between Ur-Engur (approximately 2700 B. C.) and 
Hammurabi (2100 B. C.) is completely filled out. 

Below the pavement of Ur-Engur, Director 
Haynes found another. The bricks used in its con- 
struction were laid - in two courses, and bore the 
legends of Sargon I, 3800 B. C, and his son Naram- 
Sin (see illustration page 119). We again inquire, 
How is this date arrived at? 

Hormuzd Rassam, in 1881, discovered at Abu- 
Habba a cylinder of King Nabonidus (555-537 B.C.), 
the father of Belshazzar, with whose zeal for archeo- 
ological investigations we are familiar. It contains 
an account of his restoration of Ebarra, the temple 
of Shamash at Sippara, which Nebuchadrezzar 
and others before him had rebuilt, but which had 
fallen into ruins. He says: "While I caused the 
god Shamash to go forth from within it [and] 
caused him to dwell in another sanctuary, I tore 
down that temple; and looked for its old 
foundation-stone. I excavated eighteen cubits of 
earth, and the foundation-stone of Naram-Sin, 



The Great Antiquity of Man 31 

the son of Sargon, which no other kings among my 
predecessors had seen for 3200 years, the god 




DOOR-SOCKET OF SARGON, FROM NIPPUR. 

Inscription reads: Shargani-shar-ali (Sargon), son of Itti-B61, the mighty 
king of Accad and the dominion of Bel, the builder of Ekur, the Temple of 
Bel in Nippur. Whoever removes this inscribed stone, may Bel and Shamash 
tear out his foundation and exterminate his posterity. 

Shamash, the great Lord of Ebarra, the temple, 
the dwelling place, the delight of his heart, showed 



32 Light on the Old Testament 

me." Adding the 3200 years to 550, which is about 
the time this inscription was written, we arrive at 
the date 3750 B. C. for Naram-Sin, and about 
3800 B. C. for that of his father Sargon. 

Efforts had been made to show that these kings 
were mythical personages, created by the priests 
of the late period. Curiously enough, at the very 
time this theory appeared in print, Doctor Haynes, 
at Nippur, like Nabonidus of old, stood upon the 
temple pavement of Naram-Sin. 

A number of Assyriologists accept the date 3800 
B. C, while others are very reluctant to admit such 
a great antiquity for these Babylonian rulers. 
Professor Winckler has endeavored to bring Sargon' s 
date down to 3000 B. C, while Doctor Lehman 
corrects Nabonidus' figures, and makes the inscrip- 
tion read 2200 years instead of 3200. This would 
make Sargon's date 2800 B. C. 

There is this to be said, however, with reference 
to the 3200 years of Nabonidus, before we draw our 
deductions from the facts. Doctor Haynes reported 
that the pavement of Ur-Engur rested immediately 
upon the two-course brick pavement of Naram-Sin. 
Ur-Engur's pavement consisted of several layers of 
worked clay, about seven feet in thickness, on the top 
of which was a course of burnt bricks. No debris, 
therefore, intervened between the pavement of Ur- 
Engur and that of Naram-Sin, although the upper- 
most courses of each were in some places as much 
as eight feet apart. Mr. Fisher, the architect of 



The Great Antiquity of Man 33 

the last expedition, claims that other construc- 
tions of Ur-Engur also rest immediately upon 
those of Sargon and Naram-Sin. These facts would 
seem to support the theory that a thousand years 
do not intervene between the two rulers. And yet 
on the other hand, as noticed above, only two 
and a half feet of debris exists between the pave- 
ment of Ur-Ninib (about 2550 B. C.) and Kadash- 
man-Turgu (about 1325 B. C), a period of about 
1200 years. For many centuries the pavement of 
Ur-Ninib may have been kept clear. Perhaps after 
some years of neglect, or after some catastrophe, 
the pavement within the temple area was lost sight 
of, and then began the slow process of trampling 
the accumulated dust and dirt into the ground 
floor. The gradual rise of every ancient city is a 
well - recognized fact. In Babylonia mud bricks 
were largely used for houses and other building 
operations. The walls from time to time were 
plastered. As the mud washed down, it caused the 
level of the court or sidewalk gradually to rise. 
It is well known that the level of the streets and 
alleys rises more rapidly than the ground floors of 
the houses, owing to the fact that the floors are 
swept, and little attention is given to the streets. 
In consequence, upon entering a house in the East 
of to-day, one is frequently forced to step down 
into it. And when the floors become too low the 
roof of the house is removed, the rooms filled in, the 
walls raised, and the roof replaced. 



34 Light on the Old Testament 

In the temple court, where brick pavements were 
laid by certain builders, and dirt was allowed to 
accumulate, the level rose, but only after the pave- 
ment had disappeared from view. If Ur-Ninib's 
pavement had been kept clear for the greater part 
of the period following him until Kadashman- 
Turgu's time, the same might be said for the entire 
period between Sargon and Ur-Engur. 

It is claimed by. some that because of the difference 
in the writing, paleographical reasons may be added 
to prove that at least a thousand years intervened 
between these two rulers. Such arguments are 
exceedingly precarious, as the character of the 
writing is practically the same. Then also the list 
of rulers known to the present time between Ur- 
Engur and Sargon is small, if more than a thousand 
years intervened. Much more is known of the 
preceding and subsequent periods. If a millennium 
did intervene, this age remains the least known of 
any from 4500 B. C. down to the Christian era. 
Moreover, instead of correcting Nabonidus, or 
guessing at the length of this period, it is perhaps 
better to retain the date 3800 B. C. for Sargon until 
more light is thrown upon the subject, which we 
may expect almost any day. 

On the third campaign, the indefatigable excavator 
Haynes descended through Sargon 's and Naram- 
Sin's pavement. Several feet below he came upon 
a curb, about twenty inches high, which may 
have served as an enclosure for the so-called 



The Great Antiquity of Man 



35 



altar, 1 which was found on the same level. At a 
distance of twelve feet below Sargon's pavement, he 
found a vaulted arch of burnt bricks, which was 
built in a wall as a protection to pipes which 
passed beneath it. 2 




The Archaic Arch of Nippur. 



1 See Hilprecht, Old Babylonian Inscriptions, Vol. I, part 2, 
page 24. Later it was regarded as a crematorium. See Ex- 
plorations in Bible Lands, page 458. 

2 See ibid, page 20. Also Fisher, Transactions, Department 
of Archeology, Vol. I, part 3. 



36 Light on the Old Testament 

In descending to virgin soil, the excavator found 
large urns, drains of various kinds, hundreds of 
vases filled with ashes, pottery, etc. Between 
Naram-Sin's pavement and virgin soil, he reported 
thirty feet of debris. This represents the accumu- 



Excavations in the Temple precincts to Virgin soil. 

lations of ages, and prompted Haynes to write in 
one of his reports to the committee: "We must 
cease to apply the adjective 'earliest' to the time 
of Sargon, or to any age or epoch within a thousand 
years of his advanced civilization." In other words, 
he found that instead of Sargon and Naram-Sin 



The Great Antiquity of Man 



37 



being mythological characters, or even belonging 
to the dawn of civilization, they are representatives 
of a highly developed culture. This was one of the 
great archeological surprises of recent decades. 

It is impossible to estimate the length of the 
period represented by the thirty feet of accumula- 
tion between Naram-Sin's pavement and virgin 
soil. If the rate of 
accumulations was 
the same as the 
period subsequent to 
Naram-Sin's time, it 
should be between 
two and three millen- 
niums. Naturally, 
this may be an ex- 
travagant conj ecture, 
but nevertheless, 
there is every reason 
to believe that the 
period is an indefi- 
nitely long one. 

What kind of a civilization is represented by 
the antiquities which belong to the period prior to 
Sargon? At Nippur the objects of special value, 
belonging to this time, are mostly inscribed votive 
vases, all of which were found in a fragmentary 
condition. Noteworthy among the very oldest 
might be mentioned several fragments of a white 
calcite stalagmite vase, bearing an inscription of 




Early Sumerian Marble head from Nippur. 



38 Light on the Old Testament 

Enshagkushanna. The first reads: "To En-lil 
{i.e., Bel), king of lands, En-shag-kush-an-na, lord 

of Kengi king of " The 

second reads: "To En-lil, En-shag-kush-an-na, the 
spoil of Kish . . . .," and a third: " .... 
The spoil of Kish, wicked of heart he presented" 
(see illustration No. 2 on page 39). The fragmen- 
tary legend records the fact that this ruler had 
conquered Kish, and from the spoil he presented this 
vase to his deity at Nippur. 

Two fragments (which fit together), of a vase of 
the same material, also found in the temple area, 
contain the following inscription of Urzage (formerly 
read Urshulpauddu) : "To En-lil (i.e., Bel) king 
of countries, and Nin-lil (i.e., Beltis), the queen 
of heaven and earth, nun-ba-she-na-ni, the consort 
of En-lil. Ur-zage king of Kish, king of . . . . 

has presented it" (see illustration 

No. 3). 

Following or preceding these rulers there is a 
clearly established line of kings known through the 
excavations of the French at Telloh: Lugal-shag- 
Engur, Ur-Nina, Akurgal, Eannatum, Enannatum I, 
Edingiranagin, Entemena, and Enannatum II, 
Urukagina, etc. 

Art treasures belonging to these rulers are now 
preserved in the Louvre at Paris. Among other 
inscriptions of Ur-Nina, who devoted considerable 
time to the building of temples, shrines, and store- 
houses, there is an interesting slab about eighteen 




e 
c 

C3 

•C 

w 

3 

JS 
(0 

a 
W 



01} 
N 

.. W 



s 

Vh 
fa 



40 Light on the Old Testament 

inches in length. A hole was cut in the center, 
presumably for the purpose of hanging it upon a 
peg on the wall. In order to express his sovereignty, 
Ur-Nina is represented as a giant, while his eight 
sons and servants, who are about him, are depicted 




Votive Slab of Ur-Nina of Lagash. i8Ys in. wide. 

as dwarfs. He is dressed like a priest or temple 
servant, with short hair, and naked above his waist, 
in order to express humility in the presence of his 
god. Upon his head he holds a reed-basket. Behind 
him, in the lower half of the slab, his cupbearer is 
in the act of pouring out wine. The beginning of 
the inscription is on his head, as if it represents 



The Great Antiquity of Man 



41 



what he has to say. Besides giving his title, and 
the names of temples which he built, the name of 
each son is inscribed on his respective skirt. 




Votive Slab of Ur-Enlil of Nippur. 8% in. wide. 

Belonging to this age, or perhaps an earlier, is 
a small limestone slab, somewhat similar, which 
was found at Nippur. In the upper division, 
Ur-Enlil stands before his deity with a libation 
vase in one hand and an offering in the other. 
The scene was duplicated by reversing the figures. 



42 Light on the Old Testament 

The inscription reads: "To Ninni-Edin, Ur-Enlil 
the chief merchant, has presented it." In the lower 
division besides two figures there is a sheep and a 
goat. One of the figures carries a square basket on 
his head, and the other a stick in his hand. The 
late Professor Cope of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania regarded the goat as a domestic hybrid, and 
the sheep as the uriel, now known in Eastern Persia, 
and considered that the animal locomotion as 
indicated by the incised lines is remarkably well 
executed ; and yet the slab belongs to this early age. 
The fifth son of Ur-Nina who was Akurgal, accord- 
ing to the arrangement on the slab, succeeded him. 
He is not represented as yet by any inscriptions. 
Eannatum, his brother, followed his reign. The 
inscriptions of this powerful successor record a 
dispute concerning the boundary between Shirpurla 
and Gishkhu, a neighboring city. The famous stele 
of vultures commemorates the treaty which ensued. 
It received its name from the fact that at the 
top of the stone there are carved in relief, vultures 
carrying away parts of dead bodies, after the battle 
which terminated the dispute. Eannatum was a 
mighty conqueror. He does not seem to have in- 
herited the peace-loving spirit of his predecessors. 
In a lengthy inscription he tells of the many peoples 
he subjugated, and the cities he destroyed; among 
which are Elam, Erech, Ur, Larsa, Gishkhu, Kish, 
and many others, a number of which have not as 
yet been identified. 



The Great Antiquity of Man 48 

Entemena continued this warfare, having dif- 
ficulties on account of the same boundary and the 
uprising of the subjugated. In lengthy, grandilo- 
quent records he recounts his victories, and mentions 
his great deeds. 

It seems that Bel, whose seat of worship was at 
Nippur, was a favored deity of these Shirpurla 
rulers; at least they considered that it was he who 
gave the power into their hands to accomplish their 
feats. It is therefore quite proper that we should 
expect to find some token of their gratitude in 
Bel's sanctuary. Among the discoveries in the 
temple area were two fragments (see illustration page 
39, No. 4) which read: " Entemena, the Patesi 
of Shirpurla, to whom power was given by Bel, 
who was nourished with the milk of life by Nin- 
kharsag .... of Bel, a large vase from the 
mountains he brought to Dungur, the lord of the 
foundation of heaven " Other frag- 
ments of the same king were found in later exca- 
vations. 

Urukagina, king of Shirpurla, is represented by 
four or five inscriptions which the French found in 
the ruins of that city, now called Telloh. The country 
seemed to be at peace in his day. He showed his 
piety and devotion to the gods by building temples, 
shrines, palaces, and granaries in order to store up 
the abundance of the land. 

A contemporary of this Telloh ruler, as Thureau- 
Dangin, the savant of the early Sumerian inscrip- 



44 Light on the Old Testament 

tions has shown, is Lugal-zaggisi (about 4000 B. C), 
whose vase fragments (see illustration, page 39, No.i) 
have been found at Nippur. In his inscription 1 he 
informs us that he was the son of a priest; that 
Bel had granted him the kingship of the world; 
that he had made him the spiritual head of all the 
peoples of his kingdom; that he had conquered 
the land from the rising of the sun (Persian Gulf) 
to the going down of the sun (Mediterranean Sea, 
see page 138). He recounts his restoration of certain 
cities, well known in later inscriptions, as Ur, Larsa, 
etc., and closes with a prayer to Bel, to whom he 
dedicates the vase. 

At Nippur, fragments representing quite a number 
of additional pre-Sargonic kings were found. Some 
of these contain only a few lines of inscriptions 2 , 
but from which additional names of rulers and per- 
sons are obtained: Utug, Ur-Mama, Lugal-kigub- 
nidudu, Lugal-kisalsi, Abaranna, Lugal-ezen, Aba- 
Enlil, and others. Exactly in what order these 
names are to be placed, or whether some of them 
should be placed before Urukagina, remains at pres- 
ent uncertain. 



1 From a large number of fragments, small and large, 
Professor Hilprecht copied this inscription of about one hundred 
and forty short lines. See Old Babylonian Inscriptions, Vol. 
I, part 2. Thureau-Dangin published the first complete trans- 
lation of it in Revue Semitiqus d'Epigraphie et d'Historie 
Ancienne, 1897, page 263 ff. 

3 Old Babylonian Inscriptions, PI. 46 f. 



The Great Antiquity of Man 



45 



The inscriptions of another king of Kish, which 
were discovered at Nippur and Telloh, deserve 
mention in this connection. Some of the vases 




STONE VOTIVE SLAB. 

Inscription : " To Bel, Lugal-kigubnidudu has presented it. 
10 in., thickness, 2% in. 



Diameter, 



are more than half preserved. Some bear very 
brief legends, as for instance: "Urumush (or Alu- 
sharshid), king of Kish;" or again: "To the god 



46 



Light on the Old Testament 



Bel, Urumush, king of Kish, has presented it." 
The longest of these inscriptions reads: "To Bel, 

Urumush, king of Kish, pre- 
sented it from the spoil of 
Elam, when Elam and Ba- 
rakhse had been subjugated. " 
Here might be mentioned 
also the remarkable block of 
granite known as the Stele of 
Manishtusu, which was found / 
by de Morgan at Susa, and 
translated by the indefatig- 
able Father Scheil. It has 
about two thousand lines of 
inscription. Manishtusu, who 
lived shortly before or after 
Sargon I, purchased a large 
estate for his son Mesilim. 
A present was given the 
seller, as well as the price 
which was paid. This custom still prevailed in 
Neo-Babylonian times. In the transaction, the 
land was estimated at corn value, and the price of 
corn was fixed according to the silver standard. 
A regular system of weights was in existence, which 
was based on the sexigesimal system. Besides a 
regular judiciary, which was already in existence, 
over forty professions are mentioned. In all, about 
five hundred names appear on the stone. 

We have thus briefly mentioned the pre-Sargonic 




Marble Vase of Urumush. 



The Great Antiquity of Man 47 

inscriptions, from the earliest found at Nippur, 
which was perhaps that of Enshagkushanna, to 
that of Manishtusu which was found at Susa. 
Whether the Esar 1 statue, found at Bismya, is 
older, as has been claimed, remains to be deter- 
mined. Professor Barton of Bryn Mawr published 
some years ago what is known as the Blau monu- 
ment. It antedated everything else then known. 
Recently he deciphered tentatively an archaic 
tablet belonging to the E. A. Hoffman Collection 
of the General Theological Seminary, New York, 
which he regards as being still older; but perhaps 
not as old as another which Father Scheil published 
from Djocha. 

From these brief extracts of inscriptions belonging 
to the dust of ages, we get here and there a glimpse 
of light for the period prior to Sargon I. In some 
instances, perhaps, an isolated name on a fragment 
represents a dynasty. All of which impresses us 
with the fact that while we have reached far back 
into the misty past, the oblivion which hides the 
beginnings of the human race seems to grow deeper 
and deeper. Elam is already a recognized power in the 
political horizon. The inimical relations so often 
displayed in the succeeding millenniums have been 
already developed. The biblical cities, Erech, Larsa, 
Ur, and Nippur (which according to the Talmud is 

1 Read "Daudu" or "David" by the discoverer. The little 
inscription reads, " Esar, the mighty king, king of Adab." See 
Hommel inThureau-Dangin, Les inscriptions de Sumer et d'Akkad. 



48 Light on the Old Testament 

Calneh of Genesis 10:10), and other cities, with 
their respective temples, storehouses, and deities, 
are in a great measure practically the same as we 
know them in later periods. The Semites are already 
in the land. It is scarcely possible that they entered 
during this known age. In short, from the archeo- 
logical remains of this period we are impressed with 
the fact that the civilization of that age is practically 
the same as that met in the succeeding millenniums. 
The great antiquity of Babylonian literature is 
also an established fact. The extant inscriptions of 
the early pre-Sargonic age, apart from the deeds and 
documents, as shown above, are largely of a histor- 
ical character, such as brief records of kings' doings, 
in which they magnify themselves for their pious 
deeds in building or restoring temples and store- 
houses, or in which they recount their conquests 
of neighboring kings. In addition they inscribed 
brief legends consisting of their names and titles 
upon bricks, gate sockets and votive objects. Yet 
there are excellent reasons for maintaining that 
there existed in this age also a considerable propor- 
tion of the religious texts, such as epics, hymns, 
incantations, etc., some of which are recognized as 
having been inscribed in the Hammurabi period, 
although in a revised form to suit the cult or cults 
of that time; and which formed also to a large ex- 
tent, the basis of the material that was gathered 
centuries later for the famous library of Ashurban- 
ipal. In offering reasons for the early existence of 



The Great Antiquity of Man 49 

these texts, reference can be made to the art of the 
early period, in which, for instance, scenes from the 
national Gilgamesh epic are depicted. Incidental 
references to the site of Eridu at the head of the Per- 
sian Gulf would point to a great antiquity, since in 
comparatively early times the Persian Gulf, because 
of the accumulation of soil, had already receded far 
from the city. 

The fact also that there are indications that in 
early times different versions of the creation or 
Tiamatu epic existed in the different centers, as has 
been so forcibly maintained by Professor Jastrow 
(see p. 60), in which the patron deity of the city 
was made the herb, besides being accommodated 
otherwise to the cult in which it was made use of, 
is also an indication of great antiquity. This 
recasting of a work to suit the cult in which it 
was used, is now well recognized. The Shurpu- 
Maklu texts, published by Zimmern, originally were 
Eridu series of incantations, which had been trans- 
ferred to the god Marduk of Babylon. The hymns 
published by Reisner, which were found in Baby- 
lon, are written in the Neo- Babylonian script, but 
they go back to the hymns used in the worship of 
Bel at Nippur of an earlier period. Similarly, many 
of the texts in the library of Ashurbanipal, though 
reverting to originals in the temple collection in 
Babylon may be traced back to still earlier origi- 
nals at Nippur, Eridu, Sippara and other cities. 
N This finds support in the publication quite recently 

4 



50 Light on the Old Testament 

of an incantation tablet 1 which for paleographical 
reasons is dated at 3000 or 3500 B. C, and in which 
Ea alone is worshiped. Despite this early age there 
seem to be reasons for regarding even this tablet an 
edition of a still older original, and that it formed 
part of an incantation series. Considering also that 
art, writing (see below) , religion — in a word the entire 
culture of the Semitic Babylonian — is based upon 
that of the earlier inhabitants of the valley, it is a rea- 
sonable conclusion that much of this early litera- 
ture goes back to an exceedingly remote antiquity. 
The character of the writing of this early age 
offers another weighty argument for a great antiquity 
prior to that now known; for then men wrote 
their thoughts in an intelligible and permanent 
form. The script used by the Sumerians, as is the 
case with every writing, goes back to original 
hieroglyphs or pictorial outlines of objects. The 
Babylonians, who represent the fusion of the Sume- 
rians and Semites, continued to employ the script 
until the very close of their history. The characters 
in the earliest inscriptions known are so far removed 
from what they were originally that in scarcely 
more than a third of the number used can the original 
pictures be determined. The way these are recog- 
nized is largely by inference through the different 
values the characters possess. This fact determines. 



1 Vincent Brummer, Recueil de Travaux Relatifs. Volume 
xxviii., liv. 3 et 4. 



The Great Antiquity of Man 51 

for us that between the introduction of this system 
of writing and the date of the earliest inscriptions 
in our possession a very long period intervened. 
Whether the originators of this writing — which 
was adapted to clay, their writing material — 
were the first to invent a system; whether the 
Sumerians who occupied the country prior to the 
Semites will eventually be regarded as one of the 
very first peoples of the earth, or whether a civiliza- 
tion still older than that revealed at Telloh, Nippur, 
Fara, and Bismya will be resurrected, further 
excavations will determine. 

A linguistic argument may be added. Five 
principal Semitic languages are recognized: Baby- 
lono- Assyrian, Aramaic, Palestinian, Arabic, and 
the Ethiopic. All scholars agree that there was an 
original Semitic tongue from which these have 
sprung. Taking into consideration the fixed charac- 
ter of the Babylonian language in the earliest 
inscriptions; that the grammar already shows 
phonetic degeneration, and that there is little 
difference to be observed in the language nearly 
four millenniums later, we are prompted to inquire: 
How many centuries must be accounted for in the 
history of this tongue since its separation from the 
original Semitic language, when their common 
ancestors used a common tongue? Besides the 
Semitic groups, there is the Aryan, which surely 
had an equal antiquity, not to mention the great 
unclassifiable group, the so-called Turanian, to which 



' 



52 Light on the Old Testament 

the Sumerian belongs. And again we ask ourselves, 
What is the length of the period prior to that repre- 
sented by the earliest known of these groups of 
tongues ? 

The work of the craftsman also offers interesting 
data in this connection. A great many beautiful 
examples of the work of the silversmith of this 
early age have been preserved, such as bowls, vases, 
and works of art. A beautiful specimen is to be 
found in the silver vase dedicated to the god Nin- 
girsu by Entemena (about 4100 B. C), which was 
discovered at Telloh. It stands on a bronze pedestal 
with four feet. A votive inscription runs about its 
neck. The bowl is divided into two compartments. 
In the upper portion, upon the flat metal, are en- 
graved seven heifers lying down, but with the right 
leg extended as if in the act of rising. All face the 
same direction. In the lower compartment are 
four eagles with extended wings and tails, practically 
identical with the totem or coat of arms of Shirpurla. 
The talons of each of the four eagles are clutching 
two walking animals, which have their backs to 
each other. The animals represented are lions, 
goats, and stags. Although too much attention has 
been paid to detail, the whole is exceedingly well 
rendered, and indicates remarkable skill, which in 
no respect is less striking than that of the Egyptian 
contemporaries in this handicraft. 

Notable examples of work in bronze are a few 
heads of animals which have been found. Two 




Silver Vase of Entemena, with the Coat of Arms of Lagash. 



54 Light on the Old Testament 

goat heads, said by the Arabs who found them to 
have come from Abu Hatab or Fara, are especially- 
interesting. The composition of the bronze is: 
82.97 P er cent, of copper, 1.33, per cent, of nickel 
0.86 per cent, of iron, 0.23 per cent, of antimony, 




Bronze Head. 

and 14.61 per cent, of oxygen. 1 The heads when 
found were heavily incrusted with patina. On 

1 See Helm and Hilprecht, Verhandlungen der Berliner 
anthropologischen Gesellschaft, 1901, p. 157 



The Great Antiquity of Man 55 

removing this, some of the original polish was still 
visible. The eyes are made of white and brownish 
shell, laid in the metal. Around the neck and on 
the side of the nose are similar ornamental designs 
also in shell. In the forehead there is a triangular 
design in mother-of-pearl, which is also inlaid with 
brown and white shell. The neck of the animal is 
hollow. From the top of the inside near the opening 
a pin is suspended. This is either for the purpose 
of attaching the head to a wooden body, which had 
been overlaid with the same material, or, more 
probably, for securing the head to the wall. Its 
design and execution is most excellent. It is a 
magnificent piece of work by an early Babylonian 
or Sumerian master. The thought uppermost in 
mind, in considering these antiquities, is that there 
was a long period of development before such a 
production was possible. 

The work of the lapidary of this early age also 
deserves consideration in this connection. As 
works of art, according to our standard, owing to 
the exaggerated prominence of muscles and the 
heaviness of form, the seal cylinders of this age 
would be considered defective from an anatomical 
point of view; and yet the boldness in outline and 
the fidelity of the action displayed in them is most 
remarkable. They call forth admiration from all 
who are competent to judge. The lapidist must 
have possessed delicate saws, drills and other tools. 
The fact is that the skill manifested in their execu- 



56 Light on the Old Testament 

tion was never equaled in subsequent Babylonian 
history, and can scarcely be surpassed in the present 
day with all our modern improvements. A beautiful 
example is the seal cylinder of Ibni-sharru, the scribe 
. of Sargon. It depicts Gilgamesh, the hero of the 
deluge epic, kneeling, and holding in his hand a 
peculiar vase. From its claws two jets of water 
stream forth, from which a river runs through the 
country. Before him is an ox, with huge horns, 
which throws back its head to one side in order to 
catch the water. The artistic ingenuity displayed 
in metamorphosing a bit of stone into such a work 
of art is remarkable; and yet it belongs to the 
Sargonic period. 

How radically different then is our conception of 
these times from what it was a few years ago; 
especially when we carry ourselves back to the 
fifth millennium before Christ, and find that practi- 
cally every antiquity of this early age speaks volumes 
for the enlightenment and the advanced civilization 
enjoyed by the people ! We do meet with that which 
would be regarded as primitive, yet the culture in 
general with which we become acquainted, com- 
parable in many respects with that of our own, 
points to a very great antiquity back of what we 
know as the very earliest. They make us long for 
more light ; and we ask, To what quarter shall we 
look for it? Will Nippur yield documents still 
earlier than those discovered? Doctor Haynes 
informs us that he excavated to virgin soil in the 



The Great Antiquity of Man 



57 




bd 



T3 C 

•S S 



58 Light on the Old Testament 

temple mound. Will excavations in some other 
mound yield the desired light? Later inscriptions 
regard Nippur as one of the very oldest cities, but 
this may be due to its great prominence in later 
ages, in which case we look to other sites. In truth, 
as has been stated, earlier inscriptions have been 
found; and there doubtless will be others as the 
work of excavations continues. 



Ill 

THE BABYLONIAN CREATION 
STORY 

In 1875, George Smith of the British Museum 
announced that among the treasures of that institu- 
tion which had been excavated in Assyria, he had 
discovered the Chaldean story of the creation, 
and that it closely resembled the biblical account. 
In the following year his work, "The Chaldean 
Account of Genesis," appeared. 1 The tablets had 
been previously disinterred from the great library 
which had been founded by Ashurbanipal (668-626 
B. C). 

The legend had been transcribed in the Assyrian 
characters upon several tablets, covering in all 
about one thousand lines. Including the fragments 
recently published by the Rev. Mr. L. W. King, 

1 Professor Delitzsch, in 1896, published all the known 
fragments of the legend with a critical commentary, in his work 
Das babylonische Weltschopfungsepos. This was followed by 
other translations, notably by Professor Jensen, My then und 
Epen (1900); Professor Zimmern's appendix to Gunkel, 
Schbpfung und Chaos in Urzeit und Endzeit (1895); those of Drs. 
Sayce, Pinches, Jastrow, Alfred Jeremias; and especially that 
of the Rev. Mr. King, "The Seven Tablets of Creation" (1902), 
who succeeded in rinding in the collections of the British Museum 
no less than twenty-eight additional fragments of the epic. 

59 



60 Light on the Old Testament 

of the British Museum, about two-thirds of the story 
has been recovered. 

The chief theme of the epic however, instead of 
being the creation of the heavens and the earth, 
is the glorification of the god Bel, for whose name 
Marduk was later substituted. 1 Apsu and Tiamat 
were two primeval water deities. They gave birth 
to the gods of the heavens. The latter caused the 
aboriginal deities much disquietude, whereupon the 
former decided upon their destruction. The gods 
of heaven appointed Marduk to fight the great 
Tiamat. He slew her, and out of her carcass created 
the heavens and the earth. Extracts of the legend 
follow : 

When above heaven was not named, 
And the earth beneath was not called by name, 
The primeval Apsu was their begetter, 
Mummu and Tiamat was the begetter of them all; 
Their waters were mingled together in one body ; 
A field was not marked, a marsh was not seen, 
When the gods had not emerged, 

And they did not bear a name; and destinies had not been 
fixed; 



1 This is understood to have taken place some time after 
Hammurabi had caused the worship of Marduk at Babylon to 
supersede that of Bel, whose sanctuary was at Nippur. It has 
been pointed out that there are elements in the story of two 
original conflicts. Professor Jastrow (see "The Composite Char- 
acter of the Babylonian Creation Story," in the Orientalische Stu- 
dien, 1906, p. c^ff.) has recently argued that there are traces 
of a third, which he calls the Eridu version. 



The Babylonian Creation Story 61 

Then the gods were created in the midst [of the heavens;] 
Lakhmu and Lakhamu were called forth. 

Time passed 

Anshar and Kishar over them [were placed]. 

These gods are followed by others that were born 
to Apsu and his spouse Tiamat. The gods of heaven, 
however, caused them unrest. Apsu in his complaint 
to Tiamat says : 

By day I cannot rest, by night I cannot lie down, 

I will surely destroy their ways, I will cast them down. 

They held a consultation with reference to the 
destruction of the gods, so that they might have 
rest. 

Tiamat advanced, with her brood banded together 
by her side. Fuming and raging, they became 
furious in their preparations for battle. Ummu- 
Khubur, who formed all things, spawned monster 
serpents with sharp teeth, and merciless fangs. 
Instead of blood she filled their bodies with poison. 
She made them huge in stature, and endowed them 
with brilliance, so that those who beheld them 
might be overwhelmed with fear. She set up vipers, 
dragons, raging hounds, and scorpion-men who 
bore cruel weapons. Over this band of monsters 
she exalted Kingu, her first-born, and put him in 
command of the conflict. She placed the tablet of 
fate in his bosom, and said that his command should 
be irrevocable : 



62 Light on the Old Testament 

"Let the opening of your mouth quench the Fire-god: 
The one who is exalted in the battle, let him [display 
(his) might]." 

These are the closing lines of the first tablet. 

The second tablet relates how Ea, one of the early 
triad of gods (known as Ami, Bel, and Ea), heard 
of the plot against all the gods of heaven. Ea told 
his father, Anshar, all that Tiamat had done. Filled 
with rage, he bit his lip, and wailed a bitter lamenta- 
tion. He addressed his valiant son Ami, and com- 
manded him to go and stand before Tiamat, that she 
might be appeased, and be merciful unto them. 
He made his way to her; he beheld her muttering, 
but he could not understand her, so he turned back. 
Ea,in attempting the task, became afraid ; whereupon 
he also turned back. Two of the triad having been 
unsuccessful in their efforts to bring order out of 
chaos, Anshar finally approached Marduk, and asked 
him to be the champion of the gods. 

The original of this particular version represented 
Bel as accomplishing that important work. Doubt- 
less in this form the myth had been edited by a 
priest of Bel at Nippur. 1 In later years, after the 
time of Hammurabi, when Babylon had become 
the great political and religious center, the name of 
Marduk, the patron god of that city, was substi- 
tuted for that of Bel. He was placed at the head of 

1 As has been suggested by Professor Jastrow, it would not 
be surprising to find other versions, for instance, at Eridu, in 
which Ea was the hero. 



The Babylonian Creation Story 63 

the pantheon, and made the creator of the universe; 
in other words, he was given the role originally 
played by Bel. 

Marduk being appealed to, drew nigh to Anshar, 
his father, who joyfully beheld him. He expressed 
the desire to accomplish what was in his father's 
heart. Anshar assured him that he would trample 
the neck of Tiamat under his feet. Whereupon 
Marduk addressed his father thus: 

Lord of gods, the destiny of the great gods 
If indeed I your avenger 
Conquer Tiamat, and give you life, 
Call an assembly; pronounce iba of my fate. 
In Upshukkinnaki sit together in joy; 
Let my word like yours decree fate; 
Let everything I do be irrevocable; 
May the utterance of my lips neither be changed nor 
revoked. 

The third tablet opens with Anshar commanding 
Gaga, the messenger, to summon all the gods to a 
feast in order that they might place their fate in 
the hands of Marduk, the avenger. He is commanded 
to repeat what Tiamat has planned to do; and to 
mention the unsuccessful efforts of Anu and Ea, as 
well as the acceptance of the task to champion the 
cause of the gods by Marduk, on certain conditions 
which he has mentioned. The gods are therefore 
urged : 

Hasten then; your fate quickly decree, 
That he may go and fight your mighty foe. 



64 Light on the Old Testament 

Gaga in carrying the message faithfully repeated 
everything to the gods. They broke out in bitter 
lamentations, because of the acts of Tiamat. They 
gathered together for an assembly in the presence of 
Anshar. At the banquet they sat eating and drink- 
ing until they were drunk, when they decreed the 
fate of Marduk, their avenger. 

In the fourth tablet the gods set up for Marduk a 
lordly chamber, placing it before that of his fathers. 
They then honored him by proclaiming him chief 
of the gods. His commands henceforth should be 
supreme ; they should not be transgressed. He was 
given power to exalt or debase. 

O Marduk, thou art our avenger. 

We give thee sovereignty over the entire world. 

This was followed by assurances of success. And 
that he might know that he had the power, they 
laid before him a garment. At their suggestion he 
spoke the word, and it disappeared. He spoke again, 
and it returned. They did homage unto him. 
They bestowed upon him scepter, throne, and ring, 
the insignia of a ruling deity. They gave him an 
invincible weapon, to cut off the life of Tiamat. 

He then equipped himself with bow and quiver, 
which hung by his side. The spear he slung upon 
his back, and he grasped the club in his right hand. 
The lightning he set in front of him. With a flaming 
fire he filled his body. To enclose the inward 
parts of Tiamat he made a net. In order to prevent 



The Babylonian Creation Story 65 

her from escaping he fixed the four winds. He 
created seven kinds of wind, among which was the 
evil wind, the tempest, the hurricane, and the 
sevenfold wind. Standing in his chariot, with four 
ferocious horses which were trained to trample under 
foot, and with an overpowering light about his head, 




Fight of Marduk and Tiamat. 



and his thunderbolt raised, he set his face to meet 
the raging Tiamat. 

At the sight of Marduk, Kingu, whom Tiamat 
had put in command of the monsters, became dazed 
and dumfounded : and his followers were troubled. 
But Tiamat was not dismayed; and while raging, 
she heard the charges of Marduk and the challenge. 

5 



66 Light on the Old Testament 

"Let thy host be equipped, let thy weapons be un- 
sheathed. 

Stand, I and thou; then let us have a battle." 

When Tiamat heard these words, 

She acted like one possessed; she lost her senses. 

Tiamat shrieked wild piercing cries. 

Trembling, her whole frame shook to its very founda- 
tions. 

She uttered an incantation, she pronounced her spell; 

And the gods of the battle put into action their weapons. 

To the fight they came on ; to the battle they advanced. 

The lord spread out his net, and inclosed her. 

The evil wind that was behind [him], he let loose in 
her face 

As Tiamat opened her mouth to its full extent, 

He drove in the evil wind, before she could shut her 
lips. 

The terrible winds filled her belly. 

Her courage left her, and her mouth she opened wide. 

He seized the spear, and burst her belly; 

He severed her inward-parts; he pierced her heart. 

He overpowered her, and cut off her life; 

He threw down her body, and stood upon it. 

After he had slain Tiamat, her helpers turned 
back, and to save their lives took to flight, but he 
captured them in the net, and held them in bondage. 
The eleven monsters he placed in fetters, and 
trampled them under his feet. Kingu was con- 
quered; after which he took from him the tablets 
of destiny, upon which he fixed his seal, and 
put them upon his own breast. He then turned to 
the conquered Tiamat. With his merciless club he 
smashed her skull, and made the north wind bear 
away her blood to secret places. This his fathers 



The Babylonian Creation Story 67 

saw, who rejoiced and were glad. As the victor 
gazed upon her carcass he devised a clever plan : 

He split her up like a flat(?) fish into two parts. 
He took one half and established a covering for heaven. 
He arranged a bolt; he stationed a watchman; 
And that her waters come not forth he commanded 

them. 
He crossed over the heavens; he inspected the regions. 
Before the abyss he built a dwelling for Nudimmud 

[i. e., the god Ea], etc. 

The fifth tablet, which is quite fragmentary, 
describes the creation, and the fixing of the heavenly 
bodies. 

He made the stations for the great gods; 

The stars, their images, the constellations he fixed. 

He ordained the year, and into sections he divided it; 

The twelve months he fixed by three stars; 

And after the days of the year he fixed by .... 

He established the station of Nibir to determine their 
bounds, 

In order that none might err, or go astray. 

The stations of Bel, and of Ea, he established along 
with him. 

He opened gates on both sides; 

He strengthened the bolt on the left, and on the right. 

In the midst of it he fixed the zenith; 

Nannar [the Moon god] he caused to shine forth; the 
night he entrusted [to him]. 

He appointed him a luminary for the night, to deter- 
mine the days; 

Monthly, without ceasing, with the disc he fashioned 
[it, saying]: 

At the beginning of the month, as thou riseth upon the 
land, 

The horns are to announce the fixing of the six days. 

On the seventh day, half the disc, etc. 



68 



Light on the Old Testament 



The greater portion of this tablet is fragmentary. 
It is supposed to have referred to the creation of 
the earth and vegetation. 

Unfortunately only the beginning of the sixth 
tablet has been preserved; but there is enough to 




Fragment of the Sixth Tablet of the Babylonian Creation Series, Recording 

the Creation of Man. 

show that it refers to the creation of man, in order 
that the gods might have worshipers. r 

When Marduk heard the words of the gods, 
His heart prompted him, and he devised [a cunning 
plan]. 1 



1 The restoration and translation follow King, 
Tablets of Creation. 



The Seven 



The Babylonian Creation Story 69 

He opened his mouth and unto Ea he spoke, 
[That which] he had conceived in his heart he im- 
parted [unto him]: 
"My blood will I take and bone will I [fashion]; 

I will make man, that man may " 

I will create man who shall inhabit [the earth], 
That the service of the gods may be established and 
that [their] shrines [may be built]. 

The seventh tablet, known as the tablet of the 
fifty names of Marduk, is entirely devoted to the 
glorification of this deity by the other gods as well 
as by mankind, for his wonderful achievements. 
In the poem he is set forth as the creator of the heav- 
ens and earth, the giver of fulness and abundance, 
who bestowed mercy upon mankind, and who 
shepherds the gods. The epilogue is an appeal to 
the wise and the understanding to study the poem, 
to remember Marduk's deeds, to teach them, and 
to rejoice in him. 

There are passages in the poetical portions of the 
Old Testament which Professor Gunkel of Berlin 
has brought together, in his work "Schdpfung und 
Chaos," to show that in Israel such a conflict, prior 
to the creation, was known, although it is not men- 
tioned in Genesis. Jahweh is represented as having 
contended with a great primeval monster, who is 
called in some passages Rahab, and in others 
Leviathan, Tihom, and the Dragon. This being 
seems to symbolize the chaos, or to personify the 
primeval ocean, which preceded the creation. In 
this conflict the hostile creature and its helpers are 



70 Light on the Old Testament 

overthrown, after which the heavens and earth are 
created. The most noteworthy of these passages 
follow : 

Psalm 89 : 9. When the waves thereof arise, thou [Jahweh] 

stillest them. 
Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one 

that is slain; 
Thou hast scattered thine enemies with the 

arm of thy strength. 
The heavens are thine, the earth also is 

thine : 
The world and the fulness thereof, thou 

has founded them. 
The north and the south, thou hast created 

them. 

The prophet in his appeal for deliverance cries: 

Isaiah 51:9 Arise, arise put on strength, O arm of 
Jahweh; 
Arise as in the days of old, the generations of 

ancient times. 
Art thou not he who cut Rahab in pieces, 

pierced the dragon? 
Art thou not he who dried up the sea, the 

waters of the great Tihom, 
Who made the depths of the sea a way for 

the redeemed to pass over? 

The last verse manifestly is an allusion to the 
passage of the Red Sea, which the writer added to 
his cosmological references. 

Job 26:12 He stirreth up the sea with his power, 

And by his , understanding he smiteth 

through Rahab. 
By his spirit the heavens are garnished; 
His hand hath pierced the swift serpent. 



The Babylonian Creation Story 71 

Psalm 74: 13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: 
Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the 

waters. 
Thou breakest the heads of Leviathan in 

pieces. . . 

The day is thine, the night also is thine: 
Thou hast prepared the light and the sun. 
Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: 
Thou hast made summer and winter. 

These and other passages, which are quoted in 
this connection by Gunkel, show that there existed 
in Israel the belief that, preceding the creation of the 
heavens and the earth, there was a great struggle 
between Jahweh and some primeval monster, with 
whom were associated other beings termed dragons. 

The first chapter of Genesis contains some elements 
which are similar to the Babylonian legend. The 
latter contains references to the creation of the 
earth; to the heavenly bodies, as well as their pur- 
pose, namely, to rule by day and night ; and finally 
to the creation of man. Doubtless, if the tablets 
were complete, the creation of the living creatures 
of the land and sea, besides other details mentioned 
in Genesis, could be found; some of these were 
actually given by the Greek historian Berosus 
(about 300 B. C), who in his day, doubtless closely 
reproduced the Babylonian legend. But these 
resemblances are not remarkable, for we should 
expect them to occur in any two stories of the crea- 
tion that might be written, although from entirely 
different quarters, and having absolutely no con- 



72 Light on the Old Testament 

nection with each other. The creation story of 
Genesis, while it makes no reference to the conflict 
between Jahweh and the primeval power referred 
to in other parts of the Old Testament, does mention 
a chaotic state, an abyss of waters, prior to the 
creation of the heavens and the earth. The word 
translated ''deep" (Tihom, Genesis 1:2), by which 
is meant the primeval ocean, is generally recognized 
to be the same as the Babylonian Ti'amat or 
Tiamat, which is equivalent to the feminine of the 
Hebrew Tihom. The absence of the definite article 
in Genesis, as well as elsewhere in the Old Testament, 
would seem to indicate that the word was also 
regarded as a proper name. The dividing asunder of 
Tiamat's carcass, one part of which was used as a 
cover to keep back the upper waters, and the other 
half, as the version of Berosus adds, formed the 
earth, suggests the Hebrew raqia' " firmament,' ' 
which "divided the waters which were under the 
firmament from the waters which were above the 
firmament.' ' But, as stated, Genesis makes no 
reference to a conflict which God, the Creator, had 
with Tihom prior to the creation of the heavens and 
the earth. The passages from other books of the 
Old Testament, however, cited by Professor Gunkel, 
manifestly do refer to such a conflict. 

Upon the differences of the two stories we need not 
dwell. The crude polytheistic grotesqueness of 
the Babylonian, with its doctrine of emanation or 
evolution from chaos to order, which makes the gods 



The Babylonian Creation Story 73 

emerge from this chaos, or brings the firmaments out 
of a carcass, put it altogether into another class; 
and it is in no respect to be compared with the 
dignified and sublime conception of the beginning of 
things, with God as the supreme Creator, who called 
all things into existence. Further, its crude refer- 
ences to the creation are only incidentally a part of 
the epic. Its manifest purpose is to magnify 
the god Marduk, in order to give him pre-eminence 
above the other gods. To this end he is regarded 
not only as the creator of the universe, with all its 
phenomena and the laws which control it, but he 
is made the supreme one of all the gods. In short, 
a more appropriate title for the epic would be, 
The story of Marduk and the Dragon. 

The question uppermost in the minds of those 
who take these things into consideration is, What 
relation has the one account to the other? Three 
possibilities are usually recognized: The Hebrew 
borrowed from the Babylonian; or the Babylonian 
borrowed from the Hebrew ; or they have a common 
origin. 

It is admitted that the Babylonian belongs to a 
period even prior to Abraham. Besides other reasons 
it might be mentioned that the fight was a favorite 
theme of Babylonian art centuries before the patri- 
arch's day. In consequence, scholars generally 
conclude that the Babylonians did not borrow from 
the Hebrews. In support of their contention that 
the reverse is true, the close relation of the biblical 



74 Light on the Old Testament 

and Babylonian deluge stories is cited, as well as 
the fact that Babylonian literature, to a certain 
degree, pervaded the West-land, especially in the 
period when its language was used for diplomatic 
and friendly intercourse between nations. This is 
evident from the discovery of Babylonian myths in 
Egypt, used as exercises to learn the Babylonian 
language in the Amarna period (see page 253). 
Further, some scholars fix its ultimate origin in 
Babylonia because of the idea of the watery chaos, 
inasmuch as that country was subject to great 
inundations; and because tidmat is the Babylonian 
word for sea as well as the name of the monster. 
While these arguments, if carefully analyzed, 
will be found to have at least some force, it is not 
at all impossible that at some time, perhaps long 
before the patriarch's day, this legend found its 
way from Babylonia to Palestine. It may have been 
transmitted by Abraham himself. That being true, 
such borrowing or making use of what preceded is 
in no respect foreign to the principle of Israel, which 
utilized in its own spirit for the embodiment of 
religious truths that which even had its origin in 
antiquity (see page 12); so that it might be held, 
with some scholars, that while there are only faint 
traces of that which is similar to the conflict in 
Genesis, the omission may be due to the fact that 
the story has been purified or transformed, during 
a long period of naturalization, when it was made to 
harmonize with Israel's theological conceptions. 



The Babylonian Creation Story 75 

And yet it is also quite within the range of possi- 
bility and reasonableness to conceive the idea that 
both stories have a common origin among the 
Semites, who entered Babylonia prior to their 
amalgamation with the Sumerians, and who may 
have also carried their traditions into Palestine. 
Contrary to the view held by some critics, that the 
Hebrew story belongs to the time of the exile or 
after, there are indications that it belongs to a great 
antiquity. And it is also possible that in some way, 
unknown to us, it had been handed down in a form 
more or less free from the fantastically polytheistic 
features of the Babylonian version. 

Between two and three millenniums before 
Abraham, Semites entered the Tigro-Euphrates 
valley, after which the amalgamation of the Sumerian 
and Semitic cultures began, resulting in what we 
call Babylonian. Whence these Semites came, no 
one knows. Some scholars conjecture that their 
original home was Arabia; others, Armenia. In 
Abraham's age there was another Semitic invasion, 
as is attested by the many names of the Western 
Semites (see page 146). In the late Achsemenian 
period we find the country again filled with these 
people (see Chap. XV). Taking these things into 
consideration, it is not impossible that the idea of a 
conflict with this primeval power of darkness, which 
perhaps is echoed in the New Testament doctrine 
of evil angels, was brought into Shinar or Babylonia, 
as well as into Palestine by the Semites themselves ; 



76 Light on the Old Testament 

in which case it would have found its way into 
Canaan millenniums prior to the time the story 
assumed the form in which it is preserved in the 
Old Testament. 

For the present, however, in the absence of any 
light on the subject from archeological sources, 
we can only point to the relation of the one story to 
the other, the fact that the Babylonians possessed 
the tradition prior to the beginnings of Israel, and 
then add our hypotheses. But we insist that it 
must be clear that there are no grounds for the 
radical conjectures on the subject made by some 
scholars; and that while we are compelled to un- 
learn some things, and set aside certain traditional 
views, absolutely nothing has been found which 
compels the Christian to lessen his respect and 
admiration for the sublime story of the creation 
which has been handed down to us by the Hebrews. 



IV 
THE BABYLONIAN DELUGE STORY 

The story of Gilgamesh (formerly known as 
Izdubar and also Nimrod) was a great national 
epic of Babylonia. It consisted of twelve tablets 
which contained about three thousand lines of 
inscription. The fragments which have been found 
of this work show that they represent four dif- 
ferent copies; and that they belonged to the 
Library of Ashurbanipal, in Nineveh. 1 This is 
determined by the colophons found on several of 
the tablets. 

At some early date, presumably before the ascend- 
ancy of Babylon (2100 B. C), a number of myths 
and current traditions were brought together and 
woven into one long epic, which narrates the ex- 
ploits of Gilgamesh. The eleventh tablet, which is 
a separate episode, is especially interesting to 
biblical students, as it contains the Babylonian story 



1 The late George Smith, in 1872, made the first translation 
of this epic. Only about one half of the story has been recovered 
up to the present time. In 1885 Professor Delitzsch published 
the text of the section dealing with the deluge. This was followed 
in 1890 by a critical edition of the entire text by Professor Paul 
Haupt. More recent translations worthy of note have been 
made by Dr. A. Jeremias and Professor Jensen. 

77 



78 Light on the Old Testament 

of the deluge. Most nations of antiquity have 
preserved a flood story, but the only one which has 
any close resemblance to the biblical is this one, 
namely, the Babylonian. The following are extracts 
from the eleventh tablet: 

Ut-napishtim said to him, even to Gilgamesh; 

Let me reveal unto thee, O Gilgamesh, a secret 

story, 
And the decree of the gods let me relate to thee! 
Shurippak, a city which thou knowest, 
On the bank of the Euphrates is situated; 
That city was old when the gods within it 
To bring about a flood their hearts urged them, even 

the great gods. 
In it, their father Anu, their counselor, the warrior 

Bel, 
Their herald, Ninib; 
Their champion, Ennugi; 
Ea, the lord of glowing wisdom, had argued with them, 

and 
Their purpose he repeated to a Reed-house : 
Reed-house ! Reed-house ! Wall ! Wall ! 
Reed-house, hear; and Wall, give attention! 
Man of Shurippak, son of Ubar-Tutu, 
Build a house, construct a ship! 
Leave possessions, seek life! 
Abandon property, and preserve life! 
Cause to go into the ship seed of life of every kind! 
As for the ship which thou shalt build, 
Let its dimensions be measured. 
Let its breadth and its length be proportioned to each 

other. 
Into the deep launch it! 
I understood, and said unto Ea my lord: 
"The command, my lord, which thou speakest thus, 
I will honor, I will fulfil it! 



The Babylonian Deluge Story 79 




The Babylonian Deluge Story. The Eleventh Tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic. 



80 Light on the Old Testament 

But what shall I answer to the city, the people and the 

elders?" 
Ea opened his mouth, and said: 
He said to me his servant : 
Man, thou shalt thus answer them: 
Bel hath rejected me and hateth me. 
I will not dwell in your city, 
And on the land of Bel I will show no [more] my 

countenance, 
I will go down to the deep; with Ea, my lord, will 
I live. 

On the fifth day I constructed its frame; 

Its sides were 140 cubits high; 

Its deck was likewise 140. 

I laid down its form, I fashioned it; 

I divided its hull(?) into six sections 

I divided its upper deck into seven compartments; 

Its main deck I divided into nine chambers. 

With water-pegs on the inside I caulked it. 

I selected a mast; and added all that was necessary. 

Six sars of bitumen I smeared over the outside. 

Three sars of bitumen I smeared over the inside. 

With all that I possessed I loaded it; 

With all the gold I had I loaded it; 

With all that I had of the seed of life of every kind I 

loaded it; 
I put into the ship all my family and my dependents; 
The cattle of the field, the beasts of the field, craftsmen, 

all of them I brought up. 
Shamash had fixed a time [saying] : 
"When the sender of darkness at night shall send a 

destructive rain, 
Enter into the ship and close the door!" 
That time arrived. 

The sender of darkness at even sent a destructive rain. 
I looked upon the appearance of the day; 
I was afraid to look upon the day. 



The Babylonian Deluge Story 81 

I entered the ship, and closed the door. 

To the pilot of the ship, to Buzur-Bel, the sailor, 

I entrusted the great house, together with its freight. 

When the first break of dawn appeared, 

There rose from the horizon a black cloud ; 

In which Ramman thundered. 

Like a battle against the people it came on. 

A brother could not look after his brother. 

The people in heaven could not be seen. 

Even the gods were afraid of the flood, and 

They retreated; they ascended to the heaven of Anu. 

The gods cowered like dogs; in terror they laid 

down. 
Ishtar screamed like a woman in travail; 
The lady wailed with a loud voice [saying] : 
"Oh, that the former day had been turned to clay, 
When I in the assembly of the gods had advised this 

evil. 
Yea, when I ordered the tempest for the destruction 

of my people. 
I truly will give birth to my people [again], and 
Like a fish brood will I fill the sea." 
The gods of the Anunnaki wept with her; 
The gods were downcast, they sat weeping; 

Closed their lips 

Six days and nights, 

The wind continued; flood and tempest overwhelmed 

the land. 
At the approach of the seventh day, the tempest, the 

flood and the storm which had raged like khalti 

subsided. 
The sea became quiet, the tempest ceased, and the 

flood was over. 
I looked upon the sea, [its] voice was fixed ^silent); 
And all mankind had returned to mud. 
And as the light of day advanced, I prayed. 
I opened the window, and the light fell upon my 
cheeks. 

6 



82 Light on the Old Testament 

I collapsed, I sat weeping. 

Over my cheeks (wall of my nose) flowed my tears. 

I looked upon the quarters of the expanse of 
the sea. 

After the twelfth [double -hour?] a land appeared. 

On mount Nizir the ship grounded. 

Mount Nizir held the ship, and did not suffer it 
to move. 

The first day, the second day, Mount Nizir held, etc. 

The third day, the fourth day, Mount Nizir held, etc. 

A fifth, a sixth, Mount Nizir held, etc. 

As the seventh day approached 

I brought out a dove, [and] let it go. 

The dove went forth, [but] turned; 

A resting-place there was not, and it returned. 

I brought out a swallow, [and] let it go. 

The swallow went forth, [but] turned; 

A resting-place there was not, and it returned 

I brought out a raven, [and] let it go: 

The raven went forth; it noticed the drying up of the 
water, and 

It ate, waded, (?) croaked, but did not return. 

Then I brought out [everything] to the four winds; 
[and] I offered a sacrifice. 

I prepared a libation upon the summit of the moun- 
tain. 

Seven by seven adagur pots I set. 

Into them I poured reeds, cedar-wood and myrtle. 

The gods smelt the savor, 

[Yea], the gods smelt the sweet savor; 

The gods swarmed like flies over the sacrificer. 

As soon as the lady of the gods drew nigh, 

She lifted up the great gems, which Anu had made 
according to her wish. 

"These gods, verily, by the precious stone of my neck I 
will never forget, 

These days, truly I will remember, I will never forget. 

Let the gods come to the offering. 

Bel [however], shall not come to the offering. 



The Babylonian Deluge Story 83 

Because, without taking counsel, he caused the deluge, 

And numbered my people for destruction." 

[But] as soon as Bel appeared, he saw the ship. Bel was 

wroth. 
He was filled with anger [like that] of the gods, — 

the Igigi. 
"Has any soul escaped? 

Not a man was to escape from destruction." 
[Then] Ninib opened his mouth and spoke, 
Saying to the warrior Bel: 

"Who except Ea could have planned this thing! 
For Ea knows all arts." 




The so-called Babylonian Scene of the Fall of Man. An impression of a seal 
cylinder, with Sacred Tree, Fruit, and Serpent. 



[Then] Ea opened his mouth and spoke, saying to the 

warrior Bel: 
"Thou sage of the gods, O warrior, 
How, why, without taking counsel, didst thou cause a 

flood. 
Upon the sinner, lay his sin! 
Upon the guilty, lay his guilt! 
[But] free [him]! let him not be cut off! draw . 
Instead of thy causing a flood, 
Let the lion come, and diminish mankind! 
Instead of thy causing a flood, 
Let the wolf come, and diminish mankind! 



84 Light on the Old Testament 

Instead of thy causing a flood, 

Let famine break forth and devastate the land! 

Instead of thy causing a flood, 

Let pestilence come and slay mankind!" 

Shurippak, the scene in which the Babylonian 
story is pitched, has been identified as the mound 
known at the present time as Fara. The German 
government has conducted systematic excavations 
at this site, 1 and found antiquities of the earliest 
period immediately beneath the surface, showing 
that the city had been destroyed at a very early 
age, and that it had not been rebuilt. 

It is apparent to all that the main features, as 
related in this epic, agree remarkably with those 
of the biblical deluge story. The most striking 
resemblances are: The deluge was intended as a 
punishment for sin ; the command to build the ship 
according to certain dimensions, in order to preserve 
life; the division of the ship into three stories; the 
use of bitumen to make it water-tight ; the preserva- 
tion of the seed of all life; the way the deluge was 
brought to pass; the grounding of the ship on a 
mountain; the three sendings forth of birds; the 
destruction of all mankind except those in the ship ; 

1 There is a small collection of antiquities from Fara in the 
Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, consisting of a 
number of objects in bronze, among which are two small swords; 
also several stone bowls, etc. These were gathered by Pro- 
fessor Hilprecht and Mr. Geere during the excavations at Nippur, 
which city is not far removed from Fara. 



The Babylonian Deluge Story 85 

the offering of a sacrifice on the mountain top; 
the smelling of the sweet savor; the assurance that 
another deluge would not occur because of sin; — 
besides other details, such as the hero of the Baby- 
lonian story being the tenth king, while Noah is 
the tenth patriarch. 

The divergencies, are at the same time, not to be 
minimized, as they are almost immeasurable. Chief 
among them might be mentioned the exceedingly 
crude polytheism of the epic, which depicts the gods 
scheming to out-do one another; their cowering 
like dogs; or their crowding like flies around the 
sacrifice, after they smelled the savor. But taking 
all things into consideration, no one would presume 
to say that there does not exist any relation between 
the biblical and the Babylonian stories. And the 
question arises, Is the Babylonian dependent upon 
the biblical, or is the biblical dependent upon the 
Babylonian? and how is this dependence to be 
regarded? 

In the first place, Did the Babylonians borrow 
their legend from the Israelites? Assuming the 
earliest date for the biblical, namely the Mosaic 
period, there is evidence to show that the Babylon- 
ians had the narrative centuries prior to this time. 
Babylonian civilization was millenniums old before 
the beginnings of Israel. This epic makes Bel the 
chief god, and not Marduk, which is an indication 
that it belongs at least to the third millennium B. C. 
Then also in the fourth millennium, scenes from the 



86 Light on the Old Testament 

life of Gilgamesh were favorite themes for the seals 
of that early age (see illustration below) . But more 
important than all else, in this connection, is the fact 
that a version of the deluge story has been found, 
which from the character of the writing, and the 
date which is given on it, clearly show that it was 
written in the reign of Ammi-zaduga of the first 
dynasty of Babylon, or about 2000 B. C. These 
facts make it impossible to regard the story as 
indigenous to Israel. 





Tablet and Envelope (Sargonic period), with Scene from Gilgamesh epic. 

An" answer which is frequently given to these 
inquiries is that there is a common origin for both. 
Doubtless this is true, and even that the story was 
current for a long time among both peoples prior 
to its being fashioned in the forms in which it has 
been handed down (see the discussion concerning 
the Creation story, page 75). But in the absence 
of any document to substantiate this, we confine 
ourselves to the relation of the one to the other. 



The Babylonian Deluge Story 87 

There are other reasons besides those already 
mentioned for believing that this story is indigenous 
to the land that we know as Babylonia. Its geo- 
graphical setting and its local coloring point to 
that region. Further, the fact that there are Baby- 
lonian elements in the Creation, Eden, Babel, and 
other early biblical stories, seems to lead to the 
conclusion that Babylonia is not only the country 
of these scenes, and the home of Israel's founder, 
but that the earliest origin of some of the narra- 
tives, at least, which constitute the Hebrew litera- 
ture, dealing with the period prior to the patriarch's 
leaving his ancestral home, i. e. Ur, belongs to 
that region. 

It is not, however, necessary to hold with certain 
Assyriologists, that the biblical writer must have 
had the Babylonian version before him. In some 
shape or other, the tradition doubtless was trans- 
mitted to Palestine, perhaps in the days of Ham- 
murabi, when Babylonia became the suzerain power 
of that land, or even later. And in that region it 
had an independent development, taking on, as it 
were, a Palestinian color. The rhythmical setting in 
which it appears is an indication that it was already 
old when put into its present form. When, therefore, 
the biblical writer made use of the traditions, 
current among his people, and used them in the 
spirit of his monotheism, and made them instru- 
ments whereby religious truths were set forth, 
showing the judgments of God upon corrupt man- 



88 Light on the Old Testament 

kind and the blessings bestowed upon the righteous, 
they were placed on an altogether different plane; 
in fact, the difference between the old and the new 
became immeasurable. This use of what the people 
actually had as their own peculiar possession, 
doubtless after it had passed through a period of 
naturalization, is but another illustration of the 
great principle according to which the teachers of 
Israel dealt with the people. 



THE TOWER OF BABEL AND THE 
BABYLONIAN TEMPLE 

The story of Babel in Genesis is the story of the 
building of a Babylonian ziggurrat, or temple-tower. 
Every city of prominence in ancient Babylonia had 
its temple, and every temple had its tower. The 
Ziggurrat Babili, or Etemenanki, is the tower of the 
temple at Babylon, which is the biblical Tower 
of Babel. 

The story in Genesis is strikingly Babylonian in 
its coloring and details. "As they journeyed from 
the East," they found a valley in the land of Shinar. 
The earliest inhabitants of the valley, known to us, 
were the Shumerians or Sumerians, a people that 
spoke a non-Semitic language. The derivation of 
the name, Shinar, doubtless is from Shungir, usually 
written Girsu. The physiognomy of these people, 
determined by the remains of their art which have 
been recovered, some hold, clearly shows them 
to be a non-Semitic race. They were the originators 
of the peculiar cult of the valley, which belonged 
to the early period. They were the founders of the 
great cities and temples; they were the inventors 
of the pictorial writing, out of which the cuneiform 

89 



90 Light on the Old Testament 

was developed ; they created a literature, and an art ; 
they constructed palaces, and they formulated laws. 

The Sumerian language is an agglutinative tongue, 
and, as is generally understood, is the language of 
the early pre-Semitic inhabitants of the southern 
part of the Tigro-Euphrates valley. The Semites 
who entered the land adopted the cuneiform writ- 
ing of these people. They utilized many of the 
old Sumerian values as phonograms, and gave the 
characters additional values peculiar to their own 
tongue. 

This language was first called Accadian. Professor 
Sayce, whose philological insight has advanced so 
materially the science of Assyriology during the 
last four decades, deciphered in 1870 the first 
Sumerian inscription. He was followed by Oppert 
and Lenormant, who greatly advanced the knowl- 
edge of the language. The latter published a gram- 
mar, calling the language Accadian. In 1874, Joseph 
Halevy, who had gained great distinction as an 
Orientalist, advanced the theory that this ideo- 
graphic system of writing was arbitrarily arranged 
or invented by the Assyrian priests, and that it was 
for the purpose of mystifying the people in their rit- 
uals. While finding some adherents for his crypto- 
graphic hypothesis, Halevy's position was strongly 
combated by Lenormant, Oppert, Jensen, Haupt, 
Bezold, Sayce, Hommel and Zimmern. Professor 
Haupt, who has been styled " the father of Sumerian 
etymology," by his publication Die sumerischen 



The Tower of Babel 91 

Familiengesetze, in 1879, put the study of the 
language upon a scientific basis. Professor Bezold 
actually found on an Assyrian tablet that Eme-ku, 
which in non-Semitic texts means, "the land Shumer," 
was explained li-sha-an Shu-me-ri y " language of Shu- 
mer." In 1892, Lehman published a work that gave 
an additional death-blow to Halevy's theory. The 
translations of Sumerian inscriptions by Thureau- 
Dangin and others, left little doubt generally that 
the Sumeriologists were right in their contentions 
for the linguistic character of the language. Event- 
ually Delitzsch, who for a time joined the ranks of 
Halevy, abandoned the theory; and although 
some scholars still adhere to it, and continue to 
present philological, ethnological and archeological 
difficulties for the Sumeriologist, and even attempt 
to show that the entire cuneiform syllabary and 
literature is Semitic, as has recently been done by 
Doctor Briinnow 1 , the controversy is generally 
regarded as practically closed. 2 



1 See Jastrow, A new aspect of the Sumerian question, 
American Journal of Semitic Languages, Vol. XXII, No. 2. 

2 For a complete discussion of this problem, see Weissbach, 
Die Sumerische Frage. Also see Prince, Sumerian Lexicon, p. 
VII ff., or Rogers, History of Babylonia and Assyria, Vol. I, 
p. 200 ff. Besides the Sumerian grammar by Lenormant, two 
others have been published more recently by Professors Haupt 
and Hommel, while Professor Prince has begun the publication 
of a Sumerian dictionary, the first part of which has appeared 
in Assyriologische Bibliothek, edited by Professors Delitzsch and 
Haupt. 



92 Light on the Old Testament 

The earliest known inscriptions that have been 
discovered, show that the Semites had already 
encroached upon the land of the Sumerians. 1 
Whether the few lines preserved in Genesis concern- 
ing the building of Babel echo the early deeds of 
these invaders, of course cannot be determined. 
Exactly whence they came is a much debated 
question. What their system of writing was, is. 
not known; as mentioned above, they are found to 
have adopted the script of the Sumerians. It is 
better understood what their religion was, for their 
pantheon of gods must have resembled, at least in a 
general way, that of the Sumerians, for we find 
Semitic equivalents introduced for the gods of that 
people. For instance, the writing for Enlil of the 
Sumerians, was used for the Semitic Bel. Nina 
must have been equivalent to the Semitic Ishtar. 
The culture of the Sumerians seems to have been 
absorbed by the Semites, but it received a sig- 
nificance, of course, in accord with their own ideas. 
A number of cities, among them Lagash, the 
modern Telloh, preserved the Sumerian culture and 
tongue, until the end of their history. At Nippur 
Semitic inscriptions are found as early as Urumush 
and Sargon, but the language of the religious and legal 

1 As this volume goes to press I learn that Eduard Meyer will 
publish very shortly in the Berliner Akademie, an important 
monograph on Early Babylonian Art, which will contain a new 
theory about the earliest relations of Sumerians and Semites in 
Babylonia. 



The Tower of Babel 93 

literature generally continued to be Sumerian through 
the first dynasty of Babylon. At Sippara and Baby- 
lon the people seem to have come sooner under 
Semitic influence ; and as a result, we have not only 
a mixed cultus, but also a mixed people, that we 
call Babylonian. While the Sumerian language was 
supplanted by the Semitic, the scribes and priests 
continued to use it up to the close of Babylonian 
history; especially as the liturgical language in 
the temple service. In the Hammurabi dynasty, 
as well as in the Cassite, many legal phrases in the 
contract literature continued to be written in 
Sumerian. In the neo-Babylonian period these have 
disappeared. Semitic Babylonian was doubtless 
the language in the common life of Abraham's day. 
We can, therefore, safely conjecture that this was 
the native tongue of the patriarch, if he was born 
in Babylonia. 

Shumer, or Shinar, is an alluvial plain, where the 
building material was " brick instead of stone." 
For their building operations bricks were used almost 
entirely. The stone that is found by the excavators 
had been imported from other regions, notably 
from along the Euphrates to the northwest of 
Babylonia (see also page 17). Owing to the fact 
that they burned them ''thoroughly," and that they 
were like stone, some of the bricks were used again 
and again by the different builders in Babylonian 
history. The average edifice in Babylonia seems to 
have been built with adobes. Mud plaster pre- 



94 



Light on the Old Testament 



served them intact for centuries if the walls were 
regularly cared for. Most of the great towers of the 
land in the early period were also constructed with 
mud bricks, being faced wholly or partially with 
kiln-dried bricks, in order to protect them from 
the elements. 




One of the Asphalt Springs near Hit which furnished the " slime " (Asphalt) used 
by the builders of Babel instead of mortar. 

The word translated " slime," in the story of Babel, 
which they used for mortar, means " bitumen. " 
It has been ascertained that, especially in the early 
period, this material was used to lay up their bricks ; 
and so securely did it hold together that in separat- 
ing them, in the present day, six to eight millen- 



The Tower of Babel 95 

niums later, the bricks themselves are often broken. 
In the neighborhood of Hit, some fifty miles to the 
northwest of Babylon, springs of bitumen are found. 
They are in fact springs of water, on the surface of 
which collects a thick scum of asphalt. Frequently 
the spring is seen in a state of ebullition. The 
bitumen gathered by the people is used for various 
purposes, as, for instance, they pitch with it the 
inside of their pottery vessels, which are intended 
to retain liquid ; they pitch on the inside and outside 
of their boats; they mix it with other material 
for roofing, and, in general, use it for mortar. 

The city that the people intended to build is 
known in the inscriptions as Babilu (Babylon). 
In the Old Testament the name was "called Babel; 
because Jahweh did there confound the language 
of all the earth" (Gen. 11:9). In view of the fact 
that the Babylonians interpreted the name as mean- 
ing ' ' Gate of God ' ' (Bab-ili) , scholars generally claim 
that the Hebrew etymology is incorrect ; and there- 
fore the name cannot be derived from the Hebrew 
root babal, "to confuse." Driver says : " It is simply 
a popular etymology, which lent itself conveniently 
to the purpose which the narrator had in hand." 1 
Those who believe in a literal interpretation of this 
part of the story might claim that "Gate of God" 
is a popular etymology of the Sumerians and 
Babylonians. But the root, babal, "to confuse," 

1 Compare his Commentary on Genesis, p. 136. 



96 Light on the Old Testament 

has not been found in Babylonian; and the name 
Babel in the earliest known reference to the city 
is understood by the writer of the inscription to 
mean "Gate of God," which is ascertained from the 
ideographic characters used. The expression in 
Genesis, therefore, until more light is thrown upon 
the subject, must be understood accordingly. 

Already, in 1743, Carsten Niebuhr had definitely 
determined that the ruins of Babylon were situated 
near the modern Hillah. With Herodotus, however, 
he regarded Birs-Nimrud, on the eastern bank of 
the Euphrates, to be the Tower of Babel. Even at 
the present time, views of this mound with its peaked 
projection are used to show the present appearance 
of the ruins of the famous tower. In a building 
inscription of Nebuchadrezzar, translated some 
decades ago, the great builder said: 

At that time, Euriminanki, the ziggurrat of Bor- 
sippa, which a former king had constructed, forty-two 
cubits he had projected it upwards, but had not raised 
its head. From a distant day it had collapsed; its 
gutters had not been kept clear ; rain and tempest had 
torn away its bricks; the facing bricks had opened. 
The mud bricks of its interior [body] were fallen to- 
gether like a heap. The great god Marduk made me 
disposed to restore it. 

This inscription seemed to offer proof for the 
correctness of the theory. But it is now definitely 
known that Birs-Nimrud — or what remains of the 
Ziggurrat Euriminanki, of the temple of Ezida 
sacred to the god Nebo, which was in Borsippa, the 



The Tower of Babel 97 

twin city of Babylon — was not the biblical tower, 
but that, as said before, the Ziggurrat Babili of the 
latter city, is the Tower of Babel. 

With Nippur, Erech, and Eridu, Babel is men- 
tioned in one of the Babylonian creation legends, 
as having been founded by the god Marduk. This, 
however, savors of the same influence which made 
Marduk the supreme god in the creation story. 
According to the inscriptions, Babylon did not 
occupy a position as prominent among the cities 
of Early Babylonia, prior to Hammurabi's time, 
as, for instance, Nippur, Erech, Ur, etc. The state- 
ment (Genesis 10:10) that "the beginning of his 
[Nimrod's] kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and 
Accad, and Calneh [Nippur]" would imply, that 
perhaps it was a city of great antiquity, inasmuch 
as the others are known to be such. But as the 
excavations have not revealed any light, as yet, 
on the "mighty hunter before Jahweh" and also 
because his operations were extended to cities of 
Assyria, among them Nineveh, which is first men- 
tioned in the time of Hammurabi, it would seem 
that he was a great conqueror, such as Sargon or 
Hammurabi ; and that he had established a kingdom, 
wdiich in the beginning was composed of certain 
cities, but not necessarily in the earliest age. 

The excavations by the Germans at Babel have 
not revealed antiquities of the very early period, 
due to the fact that they did not reach the strata 
which contain them, and also because some of the 

7 



98 Light on the Old Testament 

portions excavated had only been developed in the 
late centuries of the city's history, when it had 
grown greatly in extent. The earliest reference to 
\ Babylon in the inscriptions is in the time of Sargon I, 
3800 B. C. The kings of the first dynasty of 
Babylon made it their capital. Babylon there- 
afterwards became the great religious center of the 
country instead of Nippur, where Bel, the father 
of the gods, had received the obeisance of kings 
and emperors for millenniums, and as result, 
Babylon was built up at the expense of Nippur. 
In the old epics, which glorified Bel, the name of 
Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon, was substi- 
tuted (see page 62). The city continued to be 
the great metropolis of the country, until the close 
of its history, after the time of Alexander the Great. 
The history of Babylon's great temple, Esagila, 
and its tower or ziggurrat will in time be compara- 
tively fully written. Whether any reference to 
its original builders will be known is questionable. 
Like the origin of other temples and their towers, 
its founding may always be shrouded in obscurity. 
The first reference to it is in an inscription of Sumu- 
la-ilu, the second king of the first dynasty of Babylon 
(about 2200 B. C). We learn that he built a "glor- 
ious temple" for Marduk, and made a magnificent 
throne of gold and silver for the god, besides a 
statue of his consort Sarpanitum. Zabium, his son, 
is credited with having built Esagila, which is 
the name of the temple. In the ancient language 



The Tower of Babel 99 

of the land, the Sumerian, it means "house with a 
lofty head." E means "house," sag, "head," and 
ila, "lofty." The name may refer to the ziggurrat, 
or tower, which was the prominent feature of the 
temple precincts. Zabium's reference to Esagila 
doubtless means that he restored the temple. 
Similar language has been employed by others in 
this connection. It is, of course, not impossible 
that it was at that time brought into existence, 
perhaps in connection with the tower which was 
much older. The fane of Babylon, referred to in 
the time of Sargon I, is called the temple A-E. 

In different periods, Esagila had been sacked, 
and the statues of the gods carried to other lands, 
from whence they were in time returned. The 
Cassite - kings who ruled over Babylonia carried 
Marduk to distant Khani. In later years Agumkak- 
rime, the seventh king of the dynasty, brought him 
back and restored him, in all his splendor, to his 
original place in the temple. About 1300 B. C, 
Tukulti-Ninib destroyed the city, plundered Esagila, 
and carried the statue off to Assyria. In 689 B. C, 
Sennacherib, having suffered many annoyances onthe 
part of the Babylonians by their repeated rebellions, 
his patience became exhausted, decided upon the 
obliteration of the city. He sacked and laid waste 
the temples, and carried the god away. He says he 
razed the temple to the ground, and threw its bricks 
into the canal Arachtu. He cut channels through 
the city, and flooded it with water, so that the 

LOFC, 



100 Light on the Old Testament 

destruction might be so complete that no man could 
find the site of the city, and the temple of the gods. 

The excavations, however, reveal the fact that 
the destruction was not so very complete, for we 
know that his son and successor, Esarhaddon, after 
a period of ten years, began to rebuild the city and 
the temple. Death interfered with the latter 's 
labors, which were carried on to completion by his 
son Ashurbanipal (668-626 B. C). After the 
sanctuary was restored and richly embellished with 
gold, silver, and precious stones, Ashurbanipal 
surrendered the sovereignty of the temple to the 
god Marduk, after an absence of his statue for 
twenty-one years. 

Hammurabi had doubtless rebuilt the temple 
on a scale unrivaled in his day, as had also his 
successors. But greater splendor in connection with 
any Babylonian temple was scarcely manifested 
than that of Esagila and its tower, in the days of 
Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadrezzar (see 
Chapter XIV). 

Xerxes, after his return from Greece, as we are 
told by Arrian, again destroyed the temple, thinking 
that it was poorly placed in the city. Although 
Alexander the Great collected a great army of 
workmen, intending to rebuild it upon its old site, 
the doings of Xerxes practically proved the end of 
Esagila, as Alexander died after he had torn down 
what remained of the ancient sanctuary. Antiochus I 
considered himself the patron of Esagila, yet as 




oa 



W 



o 

03 

a. 
5 



102 Light on the Old Testament 

far as is known, the temple and its tower had not 
been rebuilt in the years subsequent to the reign 
of Alexander. It became a ruin-heap, and for nearly 
two millenniums its ruins, as well as others in 
Babylon, have furnished building-material for towns 
that have been built up in its vicinity, such as 
Seleucia, Ctesiphon, Bagdad, and Hillah. Burnt 
bricks, bearing the titles of the builders of ancient 
Babylon, are found everywhere in the buildings 
of these cities. Notwithstanding this ruthless 
plunder, most important architectural results have 
been obtained of other buildings by the Germans, 
who have spent five years in excavating the city. 
To this brief sketch might be added extracts from 
\ the interesting detailed account which Herodotus 
gives us of the Temple Belos, i.e., the Temple of 
Bel-Marduk, or Esagila. He describes the tower 
{i.e., E-temen-an-ki, the Ziggurrat Babili, or the 
Tower of Babel), as consisting of eight stages. 
In numbering them, he included the platform upon 
which the whole structure rested. In reality there 
were seven stages in the late period. The top, he 
tells us, was reached by gradually rising ascents 
along the sides of the platforms ; so that by walking 
around and around, the summit was reached. Near 
the middle of the ascent the priests and worshipers 
found a resting-place. Upon the top of the upper- 
most platform, a room or shrine was built. In it 
there was a couch and golden table. It is thought 
they believed that the god Marduk dwelt there. 




Terra-cotta Household Shrine of Bel, found at Nippur. 
{Natural size.) 



104 Light on the Old Testament 

Below, i.e., in the court about the tower, there was 
another shrine, in which the statue of the god made 
of gold was found. Herodotus named the god 
Zeus, meaning Marduk, and represented him as 
sitting in a chair of gold. His table and footstool 
were also of the same material. 

Such in brief is an outline of what is now known 
of the history of the "Tower of Babel." As the 
excavations are continued, and the inscriptions are 
forced to reveal their secrets, more and more com- 
pletely will its history be unfolded. 

The excavations conducted by the University 
of Pennsylvania at Nippur within the temple area, 
throw considerable light upon Babylonian temples 
and ziggurrats. As is well known, the sanctuary 
of Bel, to whom most of the early rulers did obeisance, 
and from whom they acknowledged they had 
received their authority and power, was perhaps 
the most important in the valley. The mound 
covering this ancient sanctuary rises to the height 
of ninety feet above the plain. The highest point, 
f as was readily recognized when the excavations 
were begun, covered the ziggurrat, or storied-tower 
of the temple. A section of this mound, perhaps 
one-quarter of the temple area, was excavated by 
Haynes through all the different strata down to 
virgin soil. For convenience' sake let us begin with 
a stratum in the center of the mound ; then consider 
briefly those which lie above it; afterwards those 
which lie below. 



The Tower of Babel 



105 



In this middle stratum we have evidence of 
immense operations by the famous temple-builder 
Ur-Engur, who lived about 2700 B. C. A great many 




Stamped brick of Ur-Engur, 2700 B. C. 



of his bricks, which are about twelve inches square 
and about four inches in thickness, have this in- 
scription: "Ur-Engur, king of Ur, king of Accad, 
and Shumer, the man who built the house of Bel." 



106 Light on the Old Testament 

In the accompanying illustration, the ziggurrat as 
he restored it is seen. It was the most prominent 
feature of the temple architecture. It occupied 
about one-third of the inner court. In this early 
age, it probably had three stages, which rose in 
diminishing sizes, one superimposed upon the other. 
Dr. Haynes reported that the lowest was twenty 
feet high, the second thirteen, while the upper 
was so much destroyed that exact measurements 
could not be taken; but it was approximately 
about ten feet high. On the top of the whole mass 
a shrine doubtless stood, such as Herodotus tells us 
was on the tower at Babylon. The platforms were 
in the shape of right-angle parallelograms, the 
lower being 169 feet long by 106 feet wide, with 
the corners pointing approximately to the four 
cardinal points. With the exception of the facing 
wall, this large structure was built of sun-dried 
bricks, and as far as is known had no chamber or 
cavity, but was solid. To carry off water from the 
platforms, conduits of burnt brick were built in 
the middle of three of the sides of the ziggurrat. 
These Haynes found only in the lower stage. Doubt- 
less the upper stages had also been provided with 
them. These prevented the water from washing 
over the encasing walls, and in this way the structure 
was preserved. Gutters covered with bitumen 
surrounded the ziggurrat on all sides at the base, 
except in the front, to carry away the water. The 
ascent of some ziggurrats, especially of the late 




Mound Covering the Nippur Tower as it appeared in 1893. 




The Tower of Ekur, the Temple of Bel. built by Ur-Engur (2700 B. C.) showing three stages. 



108 Light on the Old Testament 

period, were in all probability in the form of winding 
balustrades. The ziggurrat at Nippur had an 
immense causeway built out from the lower terrace 
on the front, at right angles to the face of the tower, 
leading into the open space of the court. It was 
built of two nearly parallel walls of burnt bricks. 
Crude bricks were filled in between these walls to 
form the ascent, which originally doubtless had 
steps, now no longer discernible. The means of 
ascent to the top of the platforms of the ziggurrat 
was only found to extend as high as the first stage. 
It was thought that the causeway which ascends only 
to the first stage was continued straight up to the 
top, 1 but Architect Fisher holds the view that there 
was a stairway from the first platform to the second, 
and the third, which was built parallel with the 
sides of the platforms. 

Close by, on the northeast side of the ziggurrat, a 
wall was cleared on three sides of a structure belong- 
ing to the late period, more than 150 feet long, and 
over 100 feet wide. Two entrances were found 
facing the ziggurrat, the principal one, which was 
near the south corner, being ten and a half feet 
wide. 2 In excavating the ziggurrat and the later 
fortress, which was built on top of it, debris was 
piled high upon this part of the mound, as was 

1 This account of the ziggurrat is based on the reports and 
photographs by Haynes, of his work. See Hilprecht, The Baby- 
lonian Exp. of the University of Pennsylvania, Vol. I, part 2. 

2 See Hilprecht, Explorations in Bible Lands, p. 47 if. 



The Tower of Babel 109 

quite natural, inasmuch as no facilities for removing 
the dirt to the plains beyond the mounds had been 
provided. This structure has been regarded as being 
the "house of Bel," or the temple proper. 1 A 
future expedition will doubtless undertake the 
exploration of this part of the mound, when it can 
be determined what it represents. Owing to the 
fact that it belongs to the late period, it has not 
been included in the accompanying plan, page 114. 
A portion of the walls serving as an enclosure of 
the precincts was excavated. In the southeastern 
wall of the court a large gate was found. The gate 
is quite similar to those found in Assyrian temples 
of the late period, but considerably smaller. The 
passage, though it is only six feet wide, is augmented 
by a series of stepped recesses on either side, which 
make it stand fourteen feet wide. These give it an 
imposing appearance. The depth of the gate was 
fifty- two feet, which included the thickness of both 
walls and the space between them. In the middle, 
on either side of the narrow passage-way, were 
the guard chambers. No gate-socket was found 
in situ, but one belonging to the great builder 
mentioned, namely Ur-Engur (2700 B. C), was 
found almost directly over the old position of the 
gate, in an upper stratum, which contained antiqui- 
ties of the age of Ashurbanipal (650 B. C). This 
showed that as the accumulations of debris caused 

1 Ibid, p 472. 



110 Light on the Old Testament 

the surface of the temple area to rise, the gate and 
door-socket was elevated with it, and the entrance, 
two millenniums later, remained practically at the 
same place. It illustrates also the custom com- 
monly found in the Orient, where door-sills and 
gate-sockets are reset at higher levels from time 
to time as the accumulations make it necessary 
(see page 33). In the plan, found on page 114, this 
gate, although belonging to the period long before 
Sargon, 3800 B. C, is incorporated, as it very likely 
was restored on a similar plan in later periods. It 
is an indication of the grandeur of the plan upon 
which the temple was laid out in the early age. 
Immediately in the rear of the ziggurrat there were 
slight indications of another gate. 

Dr. Peters, in 1890, discovered to the southeast of 
this enclosure the remains of a small building which 
had two rooms. Its bricks were stamped one to 
three times upon the edges with a brief legend of 
Bur-Sin, king of Ur (about 2500 B. C). It reads, 
"Bur-Sin the mighty king." He discovered two 
door- sockets in situ at the entrance of the two rooms, 
which record the fact that the structure was a temple 
or shrine called Ki-shag-gul-la Bur-Sin, "House of 
the delight of Bur-Sin," which the king dedicated 
to the god Bel. 

At the end of the wall to the west of the gate 
above described, a wall ran to the south. This was 
traced a short distance. A wall corresponding to 
the other was found extending also to the south of 




Topographical map of the northeastern section of Nippur, showing in the lower 
part the outer and inner court of the Temple. 



112 Light on the Old Testament 

the wall on the east side of the gate. The extension 
of these two walls made it appear as if there was 
also an outer court. On the last expedition, a 
topographical map of a portion of Nippur was found. 
It includes, besides walls, gates, canals, buildings, 
and roads, a plan of the temple. It clearly shows 
that it had two courts. An available photograph 
of this map, which was taken before it was thoroughly 
cleaned, appears to show that there is written upon 
the inner court the words E-kur, which is the name 
of the temple. The temple had, therefore, an outer 
as well as an inner court. If this outer court was 
square, or approximately so, it included the shrine 
of Bur-Sin. Further excavations in this part of 
the temple area, although a considerable portion of 
the mound has been washed away, may reveal 
similar shrines having been built by other rulers. 
Between the double walls which divided the courts, 
vaults were found. One of these was excavated on 
the third campaign. It was thirty-six feet long 
by eleven and a half feet wide, and eight and a half 
feet deep. There was a ledge, one and a half feet 
wide, running around the four walls two and a half 
feet from the floor. This was capped by a layer 
of burnt bricks. It is not improbable that in these 
vaults the temple literature was also kept, con- 
sisting of hymns, prayers, incantations, and all 
ritualistic writings used in connection with the 
Bel cult. Here also the stone votive vases may have 
been stored. 



The Tower of Babel 



113 



Between the temple proper and the vaults, Dr. 
Haynes, on the last campaign, found a large stone 
vase about three feet 
high, which had been pre- 
sented to the temple by 
Gudea, the priest-king of 
Shirpurla (Telloh). The 
inscription reads: "To 
Bel, the lord of the gods, 
for the temple at Nippur, 
Gudea the patesi of Shir- 
pula presented the long 
boat of Ekur for his 
life." 

On the basis of the act- 
ual excavations and the 
plan of the temple which 
is found on the topo- 
graphical map in clay, and also taking into con- 
sideration the restorations which have already been 
proposed, the plan on the following page by Mr. 
Clarence S. Fisher is offered as a ground plan of the 
Temple of Bel about the time of Ur-Engur. 

This, in brief, is a picture of the temple and its 
tower as it existed in the first half of the third 
millennium before Christ. In the course of time, 
from some unknown cause, perhaps through neglect, 
or in consequence of an invasion, the pavement of 
Ur-Engur was lost sight of. A ground floor then 
existed in the area, at least in some portions of it, 




Stone vase presented to Bel by Gudea. 



CM 



WMm mssz 






Hnttrat/ata 
daenfiy it* 
CtaUmfvtrj fltn 

3ali4 st'f of 



Stint I But iin 



, 



Outer (.ate 



i »■ 



T — 

- ■ 




>5S/?- 



Plan of Ekur, the Temple of Bel. Inner court 308 x 250 feet, Outer court about 

260 feet square. 



The Tower of Babel 115 

until the time of Ur-Ninib (about 2550 B. C). 
Dr. Haynes reported that one hundred and thirty- 
five of the one hundred and forty-three bricks 
which he took from the section excavated, were 
inscribed for this king. The inscription reads: 
"Ur-Ninib, the all-sublime shepherd of Nippur, 
the pastor of Ur, he who delivers the command of 
Eridu, the gracious lord of Erech, the king of Isin, 
the king of Shumer and Accad, the sublimely 
chosen one of the goddess Nina." 

Ur-Ninib 's pavement lies, on an average, about 
three feet above that of Ur-Engur. The debris 
between has revealed many important fragments of 
inscribed vases. They contain some of the oldest 
inscriptions known. Professor Peters excavated a 
goodly number of these on the second expedition, 
and Doctor Haynes the others on the third. As has 
been shown by Professor Hilprecht, these fragments 
belong, not to the period between Ur-Engur and 
Ur-Ninib, but to the age prior to Sargon I. The only 
possible explanation is that these vases, dedicated 
to the god Bel by kings and patesis, had been in the 
possession of the temple, perhaps used in its service 
for many centuries, and at the time of some great 
disaster which befell the city, doubtless at the time 
of a foreign invasion, but not that of Kudur-Nan- 
khundi, as has been claimed, because he lived after 
Ur-Ninib, these ancient votive objects were ruth- 
lessly smashed in pieces. Naturally in the debris 
of that age the fragments would be found. They 



116 Light on the Old Testament 

contain brief fragmentary legends (see page 37). 
In this stratum Dr. Haynes found also a torso 
of a statue in dolerite nearly life size, in many 
respects similar to the statues of Gudea found at 
Telloh (see page 158). He also found a straight 
nose in basalt, belonging to a statue fully life size; 
also a small white marble head, and other anti- 
quities. As only a portion of this stratum of the 
temple area has thus far been excavated, very 
important discoveries can be looked for when the 
work in this mound is resumed. 

Ur-Ninib's pavement must have been used, or 
in other words kept cleared, for many centuries, 
otherwise the accumulations between it and the 
next one above would be greater. One and a half 
feet above, the pavement of Kadashman-Turgu, 
who lived about 1250 B. C, is found in some parts 
of the mound. This Cassite monarch extended the 
sides of the ziggurrat, raised its terraces, restored 
its conduits, and replaced its gutters. 

About two feet above this is the pavement of the 
Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668-626 B. C). This 
great monarch, out of reverence for the Nippur gods, 
or for political purposes, devoted considerable time 
to the embellishment of this ancient sanctuary. 
As far as is known he is the last restorer of Ekur. 
The inscription on his bricks, which is written in 
Sumerian, reads: "To Bel, lord of lands, his lord, 
Ashurbanipal, his good shepherd, the mighty king, 
the king of the four quarters of the earth, Ekur, 



The Tower of Babel 117 

his house he built with burned bricks." In the 
stratum above the work of Ashurbanipal is found 
the large fortress built upon the old temple and its 
tower. This eventually fell into ruins. Finally, 
the late inhabitants of Nippur buried their dead 
in the mound covering the remains of the sanctuary 
where the ancients had worshiped their gods. 

Only the builders or restorers of the temple and 
its towers who laid pavements within the sacred 
precincts have been mentioned. A number of the 
other builders, after Ur-Engur's time, are represented 
by stamped bricks. These built or rebuilt shrines, 
walls, etc. 

Returning to the stratum representing the work 
of Ur-Engur and going downward, there is found, 
from six to eight feet below, another pavement which 
was laid with the bricks of Sargon I and Naram-Sin, 
his son, about 3800 B. C. Sargon's bricks are 
stamped with his legend: " Shargani-shar-ali, king 
of Accad, the builder of the temple of Bel." Naram- 
Sin's inscription reads: " Naram-Sin, builder of 
the temple of Bel." It is quite interesting to note 
that a large number of terra-cotta stamps, used by 
the brickmakers in making these impressions upon 
the soft clay for Sargon and Naram-Sin, have been 
found. Some are very much worn from long usage. 
These bricks measure about twenty inches square, 
by about four inches in thickness. All have been 
carefully made in molds. 

In the strata beneath the pavement of Naram- 




Terra-cotta stamps used by brick-makers. Upper : " Naram-Sin.'' 
Lower: Shargani-shar-ali (Sargon). 



The Tower of Babel 119 

Sin, to the depth of over twenty-five feet, were 
found thousands of urns and pottery vessels con- 
taining remains of bones and wood partially con- 
sumed by fire. In some were found cups and dishes; 
in others, objects in copper, such as nails and battle- 
axes; or objects in stone, such as beads, seal cylin- 
ders, and different kinds of jewelry. Few of these 
jars and urns were found intact, having been 
crushed by the settling of the ground. Beds of 
gray and white ashes, mixed with fragments of 
pottery, were found at practically every level in these 
strata. Here and there were discovered terra-cotta 
drains composed of perforated rings. Three and a 
half feet below Naram-Sin's pavement, on the third 
campaign, the excavators came upon a curb, which 
was about twelve feet from the ziggurrat. It stood 
some twenty inches high, and evidently served as 
an enclosure for something in that early age. Within 
what would be the supposed enclosure, Dr. Haynes 
found what he regarded as an altar. It was built 
of sun-dried bricks, thirteen feet long by eight feet 
wide. It had a ridge of bitumen running about its 
edge seven inches high. The top of this construction 
was covered with a layer of several inches of white 
ashes. Near it was found a bin, also containing 
several bushels of ashes. It was quite natural for 
the excavator to regard this as "an ancient place 
where sacrificial victims were burned." 

The results obtained by the Germans under 
Montz, Koldewey, and Meyer, in 1887, at El-Hibba 



120 Light on the Old Testament 

and Surghul, which are about six miles distant from 
each other, were similar to those obtained by Dr. 
Haynes. Around an immense circular tower of 
two stories were found drains, ashes, bones, vases, 
and other buried remains. Koldewey concluded 
that both sites represent fire necropoles, which 
antedate the earliest civilization known. In other 
words, the tower was the center of a great cemetery, 
where the people buried the incinerated remains of 
their dead in jars and urns, and where the rich 
built houses, in which the defunct were supposed to 
live. It has been pointed out that in pre-Sargonic 
times the conditions at Nippur were the same. 

To Professor Hommel belongs the credit for 
conceiving the idea that the Babylonian stage towers 
were originally sepulchral monuments. Taking this 
into consideration with Strabo's reference to the 
"sepulcher of Bel" in Babylon, and Diodorus' 
"tomb of Ninos," in Nineveh, and also a name of 
the ziggurrat of Nippur found on a cylinder of 
Ashurbanipal, in which it is called E-gigunu "house 
of the tomb," the idea was then suggested 1 that the 
ziggurrat in the early pre-Sargonic or Sumerian age 
was a tomb of the patron deity, and like a huge 
mausoleum was surrounded by smaller ones of the 
rich, and graves of the common people. Future 
investigations will doubtless give us more light upon 
this interesting question. 

J See Hilprecht, Explorations in Bible Land, p. 462 ff. 



The Tower of Babel 121 

Some scholars hold that the ziggurrat is sym- 
bolical of the heavenly seat of the gods. The deities 
being astral, the whole constellation represents 
the god. The ziggurrat they claim is the god's 
heavenly shrine. The figures cut in relief on the 
upper part of boundary stones which represent the 
deities seem to express this theory. 1 In some instances 
the shrine, god, and weapon are given. In others, 
the shrine and the weapon, or even one symbol. A 
shrine on one of the stones appears to be a good 
representation of a ziggurrat. This has led some 
scholars to conclude that the ziggurrat is an earthly 
symbol of the god's heavenly seat. 2 

In the story of Babel there is an expression 
which may have some bearing upon the signifi- 
cance of the tower. That the builders intended 
to raise its head into the very ether of heaven has 
been the usual explanation of the familiar passage. 
For centuries the illustrations of the tower not 
only make it reach, but pass through the clouds; 
or as a recent commentator says: "The expres- 
sion is probably meant here, not hyperbolically, but 
literally, "heaven" being regarded as an actual 
vault, which might be reached, at least by a bold 
effort." 3 

1 On this subject see Dr. W. J. Hinke's forthcoming work, 
"A New Boundary Stone of Nebuchadrezzar I." 

2 Winckler, Himmelsbild und Weltenbild der Babylonier. 
Der dlte Orient III 2 and 3. 

3 Driver, Commentary on Genesis, p. 135. 



122 



Light on the Old Testament 



The expression in Genesis, "That its head shall 
be in the heavens," must be understood differently. 
Concerning Ekur and the temple of Bel at Nippur, 
it is written: " O great mountain of Bel, Imkharsag, 




Building inscription of Nabopolassar, giving an account of his restoration of the 
Tower of Babel, in which he says he raised " its head into the heavens." 

whose summit rivals the heavens." But it was 
really less than fifty feet high. An expression like 
that of Genesis is found, almost word for word, in 
connection with ziggurrats in a number of building 



The Tower of Babel 123 

inscriptions dating as early as the time of Abraham. 
For instance, Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchad- 
rezzar, in an account of his restoration of the Tower 
of Babel, says: "The god Marduk caused me to 
lay its foundations in the breast of the earth, and 
to raise its head into the heavens." 

The Babylonians, in their cosmological concep- 
tions, divided the world into three parts, correspond- 
ing to the regions dominated over by the triad of 
gods, Anu, Bel, and Ea. The region of Anu, the 
god of heaven, is that of the heavenly ocean (An), 
or that which is above the starry vault. The region 
of Ea was that of the terrestrial ocean (Ki), or the 
subterranean waters. Bel's region (Lit) was between 
the two, and corresponded to the raqia' of Genesis, 
translated "firmament," which was "in the midst 
of the waters," which was to divide the waters 
from the waters. "And God made the raqia' and 
divided the waters which were under the raqia' from 
the waters which were above the raqia " (Gen. 
i : 6, 7). The raqia", therefore, was between, or 
joined heaven and earth. The name of the tower 
of Babel E-temen-an-ki, "house (E) of the founda- 
tion (temen) of heaven (an) and earth (ki)" seems to 
couple in some way the two regions. E-ur-imin- 
an-ki, "the house of the seven stages of heaven and 
earth," the name of the tower of Borsippa, and 
E-gubba-an-ki in Dilbat, likewise convey this idea. 
One of the names for the ziggurrat at Larsa and 
Sippara, as well as at Nippur, was E-dur-an-ki 



124 Light on the Old Testanient 

" house (E) of the link (dur) of heaven (an) and earth 
(hi)." It is quite probable that the expression 
referred to in Genesis, as well as those referred to 
in the building inscriptions, have some connection 
with these names of ziggurrats. 

The theory has been proposed, in connection with 
the name Dur-an-ki, that the ziggurrat of Bel at 
Nippur "is the local representation of the great 
mythological mountain of the world," the region 
over which Bel ruled; and that it is symbolically 
the "link of heaven and earth" which connects the 
two extreme parts of his empire. The theory is based 
on the fact that Bel ruled over the region between 
An and Ki. But to say that ziggurrats are sym- 
bolical of the region over which Bel ruled, and also 
to assume that the epithet Dur-an-ki, with this 
particular meaning, was afterwards applied to other 
ziggurrats which were dedicated to other gods, 
would be to connect the name of Bel with all 
ziggurrats. The former cannot be proved; and as 
the name is a general one, it does not seem possible 
to give Bel such prominence in connection with 
other ziggurrats, — for example, those of Sippara and 
Larsa, which were dedicated to Shamash. Sufficient 
for the present is it to know that the expression in 
Genesis was used in connection with these towers, 
according to the inscriptions; and that names of 
ziggurrats also contain similar ideas. 



VI 

THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER OF 

GENESIS 

Ever since Professor Noldeke, who, as early as 
1869, declared that criticism had forever disproved 
the claim that Genesis 14 was historical, the chapter 
has proved a storm center in biblical criticism. 
It relates how, in the days of Amraphel, four kings 
of the East, after the five kings of the Vale of Siddim 
had rebelled against Elam, invaded the land and 
fought them. Abraham, hearing of their victory, 
and that his brother's son Lot had been taken 
captive, gathered his trained servants, and also 
his allies, and pursued the kings, Chedorlaomer, 
Tidal, Amraphel, and Arioch, as far as Dan, where, 
through some strategy at night, he routed them 
and pursued them unto Hobah, near Damascus. 
On returning, he restored Lot and the possessions 
of the king of Sodom, and paid tithes to Melchizedek, 
king of Salem. 

The theory of the late origin of all the Hebrew 
Scriptures prompted the critics to declare this 
narrative to be a pure invention of a later Hebrew 
writer; in fact, a fanciful midrash, or a post-exilic 
forgery. The patriarchs were relegated to the 

125 



126 Light on the Old Testament 

region of myth and legend. Abraham was made a 
fictitious father of the Hebrews. He was created 
in the late days of Judaism by an idealizer of ancestry, 
in order to project backwards the beginning of the 
Hebrew race. Some saw in Abraham the name of a 
clan; others declared him to be a product of the 
Israelitish tendency to personify ideas ; while others 
considered him to be a god, presumably the moon- 
god. Genesis 14, some claim is a narrative of some 
predatory raid against Canaan by a party of Bed- 
ween Arabs, to which legend the names of Lot and 
Abraham were tacked on; the whole story being 
afterwards elaborated by some later writer into 
the shape in which it now presents itself. Or, again, 
the whole story is a fiction based upon the Assyrian 
conquest of Palestine in the later days. These critics 
usually begin the history of the Hebrews with the 
Exodus of Israel from Egypt, or with the en- 
trance into Western Canaan. 

Even the political situation was declared to be 
inconsistent with fact. A military expedition of 
such proportions at that early date was regarded 
as incredible. Even the names of the kings are 
etymological plays upon subsequent events. In 
short, they said, monumental evidence to show that 
the narrative is historical is totally wanting. 

In the light of what has been discovered, Pro- 
fessor Noldeke and his line of followers naturally 
have changed a few of their views. Certain scholars 
now seem to think that, as some of these theories 



The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 127 

are no longer held, by reason of what is now known, 
there is no longer any occasion to refer to them. 
But inasmuch as a large number are still maintained, 
some of which are exceedingly far-reaching, and are 
based on highly insufficient grounds or, in fact, no 
data whatever, the general public has a right to 
know what has become of the others which were 
advanced by scholars of repute, as well as to con- 
sider the theories which are still promulgated. 

Weighing carefully the position taken by the 
critics in the light of what has been revealed through 
the decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions, 
we find that the very foundations upon which 
their theories rest, with reference to the points that 
could be tested, totally disappear. The truth is that 
wherever any light has been thrown upon the subject 
through the excavations, their hypotheses have 
invariably been found wanting. Moreover, what 
remains of their theories is based upon purely 
speculative grounds. 

In the first place, instead of the names of the four 
kings being " etymological inventions" of imaginary 
characters, we now know that they are real ; and the 
persons that bore them are historical. It is now 
generally admitted that Amraphel, king of Shinar, 
and the great Hammurabi are to be identified as one 
and the same person. In a text from Sippara, his 
name is written Ammurabi. In a letter written by 
Asharidu to Asnapper (Ashurbanipal) , his name is 
written Ammurapi. The first element in the names 



128 Light on the Old Testament 

of two other rulers of the first dynasty, i. e. f Ammi- 
zaduga and Ammi-ditana, in all probability is the 
same; namely, Hammu. Although explained by 
the Babylonian writer as having the same meaning 




Biblical Amraphel in bas-relief. 



as Hammu (namely, "kimtu") in these names, 
the element in the latter names is always written 
without h. For the addition of the letter I in Am- 
raphel in the Hebrew orthography, no satisfactory 



The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 129 

explanation has as yet been offered. Some call 
attention to the fact that in the contract literature 
of this period there is a name Hammurabi-il{u) 
"Hammurabi is a god." The change of b to p 
offers no philological difficulty. These scholars 
have suggested that this name is "letter for letter 
the Amraphel of Genesis." This view, however, is 
not generally accepted by Assyriologists. 

While great uncertainties exist in all chronological 
calculations for the years before Christ, the date of 
Amraphel, according to the Hebrew chronology, 
synchronizes in a general way with that of Hammu- 
rabi, according to the inscriptions. By the Hebrew 
chronology is not meant Ussher's, with which all 
English Bible students are familiar. The author 
of that system, thinking that the sojourn of Israel 
in Egypt could not have lasted four hundred and 
thirty years, used in this connection the number of 
years given by the Septuagint version; namely, 
two hundred and fifteen years. Using the Hebrew 
text throughout, Abram's entrance into Canaan 
should be fixed at about 2136 B. C. instead of 
1921 B. C. 

A number of Assyriologists fix the date for Ham- 
murabi at 2250, while others make it 2100 B. C. 
At the present time there is no way of fully deter- 
mining this point. There are dynastic lists of kings 
for the second millennium, but they are more or 
less incomplete and uncertain. The statement by 

9 



130 Light on the Old Testament 

Nabonidus 1 that Hammurabi lived seven hundred 
years before Burna-Buriash, who reigned about 




Clay cone of Hammurabi, referring to his buildings. 

1400 B. C, would make his date about 2100 B. C. 
1 Rawlinson, Inscriptions of Western Asia, I, 69 b 4-8. 



The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 131 

This statement is remarkable, for it makes his date 
in the Babylonian practically the same as in the 
Hebrew chronology. This fact is strikingly impor- 
tant . Why ? Think of a late Hebrew writer invent- 
ing the story of Abraham, in which he makes use of 
the names of historical personages, as some critics 
now declare, and has so arranged his chron- 
ological statements in making Abraham their 
contemporary that their dates synchronize. This 
Hebrew fiction- writer, or collector of legends, it 
surely must be acknowledged, was a phenomenal 
chronologer. 

Hammurabi had his capital at Babylon. The 
limits of Shinar, over which he ruled in the early 
part of his reign, are not known. If it is correct to 
regard the name as the Hebrew equivalent of 
Shumer, which was the name of Southern Babylonia, 
then we must recognize the fact that Arioch calls 
himself, not only King of Larsa (Ellasar), but uses 
as well the general title, "King of Shumer and 
Accad" (page 136). Doubtless in the early part 
of his reign his kingdom was limited to the environs 
of Babylon. After the control of Elam was shaken 
off, and Rim-Sin (Arioch) was conquered, Shumer 
in its entirety came under his sway, after which time 
he adopted this general title. 

Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, has not as yet been 
identified. His name, however, is composed of two 
elements which are well known; namely, Kudur, 
meaning, in the language of Elam, "servant," and 



132 Light on the Old Testament 

the god Lagamar, which is one of the prominent 
Elamitic deities. The name, in other words, is 
similar in formation to the Elamitic names, Kudur- 
Mabug and Kudur-Nankhundi. 

Doctor Theodore L. Pinches offers a translation 1 
of fragments of a tablet, which some hold may refer 
to the king mentioned in the Old Testament. On 
one of these he informs us that after referring to 
Babylon, and to the property of that city, small 
and great, it is said that the gods [apparently] 

in their faithful counsel to Kudur-Lakhgumal, king 
of the land of Elam .... said, "Descend. " The thing 
which unto them was good [he performed, and] he 
exercised sovereignty in Babylon, the city of 
Kar-Duniash. 

If correctly translated by Doctor Pinches, it would 
imply that an Elamitic ruler, named Kudur-Lakhgu- 
mal had conquered Babylon. Dur-sir-ilani son of 
Eri-Ekua (also written Eri-Eaku), together with 
"Tudkhula, attacked and spoiled Babylon." For 
paleographical reasons, Doctor Pinches regards these 
inscriptions as belonging to the age following the 
Persian period, and holds that the peculiar associa- 
tion of these three names is simply a striking coinci- 
dence. If these three names are correctly trans- 
lated it would almost seem that they represent the 
biblical Chedorlaomer, Arioch, and Tidal, and that 
we doubtless have an effort on the part of a late 

1 The Old Testament, in the Light of the Historical Records 
of Assyria and Babylonia, p. 222 ff. 



The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 133 

scribe to put in writing some early legendary 
material. Other scholars, who have seen the in- 
scriptions, seem to be disposed to question the 
reading of the names. 

As early as the days of Rawlinson and George 
Smith, Rim-Sin, king of Larsa, the son of Kudur- 
Mabug of Elam, has been regarded as identical with 
the biblical Arioch, king of Ellasar. This iden- 
tification, however, has been questioned by some 
scholars, who say that it cannot be proved. 

The first element in the name of this ruler is 
usually written with the sign commonly read ardu, 
"servant." The variant reading, Ri-im, determines 
its value in this name. A bilingual text gives for 
the same sign the value E-ri, which may be Sumerian 
or Elamitic, or it is a dialectical value for the 
character. Aku is a well known equivalent for the 
moon-god Sin. In the light of these facts, and 
because of other considerations, it follows that 
Rim-Sin in all probability is a Semitized form of 
the name Eri-Aku (Arioch), and that they are 
identical. 

The difference between the name of the city 
Larsa and Ellasar must, of course, be taken into 
consideration. But corruption in the text, due to 
frequent transmission, could easily be accepted as a 
reasonable explanation in order to account for this 
change. 

Kudiir-Mabug, the son of Shimti-Shilkhak, was 
the father of Arioch. Exactly what relation Chedor- 



134 Light on the Old Testament 

laomer was to Kudur-Mabug cannot be determined. 
He was doubtless his father or his brother. Kudur- 




Bronze Canephorus dedicated to Nana by Kudur-Mabug, the father of Arioch of 
Ellasar, mentioned in Genesis xiv. 

Mabug does not have the title "King of Elam," 
but only Prince of Emutbal, i. e. t the western part 



The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 135 

of Elam. Chedorlaomer was in all probability 
king of Elam, while his son or brother was prince 
of Emutbal, and his grandson or nephew was king of 
Larsa. 

Prior to Hammurabi's thirty-first year, when he 
threw off the yoke of Elam, Arioch the Elamite 
reigned over a considerable portion of southern 
Babylonia. Up to the present time only three rulers 
of Larsa are known. Nur-Ramman, the builder 
of two sanctuaries in that city, was succeeded by 
Sin-idinnam (not the governor under Hammurabi 
by the same name), who restored and embellished 
the fane of Shamash, also in that city, besides 
constructing canals and other works. He calls 
himself "the Preserver of Ur, King of Larsa and 
King of Shumer and Accad," which title embraced 
practically lower Babylonia. The third known 
ruler of Larsa is Arioch. Exactly how Elam came 
to dominate over this region is not known, as the 
inscriptions of these rulers throw no light upon the 
subject. Perhaps it was brought about by the 
invasion of Kudur-Nankhundi, who invaded Baby- 
lonia, according to Ashurbanipal, about 2285 B. C. 
Or, it may date from the fall of Nisin. The seven- 
teenth year of Sin-muballit, the father of Hammurabi, 
was called "the year in which the city of Nisin was 
taken." The dating of contracts bearing Rim- 
Sin's name shows that that event marked an epoch 
for dating tablets; for example: "The fifth year 
of the taking of Nisin." They are found dated 



136 Light on the Old Testament 

as high as the thirtieth, which corresponds to the 
twenty-sixth year of Hammurabi, if that event 
took place in the seventeenth year of his father's 
reign. Arioch ruled, besides Larsa where he had 
the seat of his government, over Ur, Eridu, Lagash, 
and Nippur; in other words, as mentioned above, 
southern Babylonia. Taking these things into 
consideration, and especially in view of the fact 
that he used the title " King of Shumer and Accad," 
which really embraced the city of Babylon, there 
can be little doubt but that Hammurabi, although 
ruler of Babylon, inherited a throne which was sub- 
ject to Elam, and that he was a dependent upon 
this son of that land in the early years of his reign. 
This means that the army of Shinar, and its king, 
could be controlled by that nation. We have here a 
reason why Shinar and Elam were associated 
together in the campaigns against the kings of the 
West-land. Further, as mentioned above, Arioch 
king of Larsa was the son of the Elamite Kudur^ 
Mabug, which fact offers a very satisfactory reason 
why the armies of Larsa and Elam should be allies 
in this campaign. In short, we have reasons why 
three of the four kings should be allied in reconquer- 
ing these rebellious subjects of the king of Elam. 
This is a remarkable confirmation of the historical 
value of the chapter. When history records such a 
confederation of powers, it is highly important to 
ascertain the cause of such a union. And that we 
are able in these days to give the reasons for the 



The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 137 

coalition of three of the four nations, in this earliest 
of Hebrew records that we can hope to corroborate by 
the help of the monuments, seems wonderful. 

In a number of inscriptions, Kudur-Mabug also 
calls himself Adda Martu, which means "Prince of 
the land of Amurru (Palestine and Syria)." In 
other words, the inscriptions prior to the over- 
throw of Elam and Larsa record the supremacy of 
Elam over this region. This is in strict accordance 
with Genesis, for we are told, "twelve years they 
(the five kings) served Chedorlaomer (the king of 
Elam), and in the thirteenth year they rebelled." 
This is another remarkable confirmation of the 
accuracy of the historical details of this chapter. 

After Hammurabi conquered Elam and Arioch, 
he adopted this title. We learn that the second in 
succession after Hammurabi, namely, Ammi-ditana, 
continued to regard himself as prince of this country. 
This fact doubtless explains why Shinar heads the 
list in the first verse of the chapter. The episode is 
dated in the days of Amraphel, whereas the country, 
when the invasion took place, was subject to Elam. 
It is because the record was written after Hammurabi 
had become the suzerain of the land. 

The critics also urged as an argument against the 
credibility of the campaign, the difficulty in believ- 
ing that a military expedition at this early date 
could be sent from that region. We have seen that 
the inscriptions of Elam of this time claim for the 
king, supremacy of Syria and Palestine. That 



138 Light on the Old Testament 

fact conclusively meets their argument. But further, 
in an inscription of Lugal-zaggisi, about 4000 B. C, 
we learn that this ruler accomplished, about two 
thousand years before Abraham was born, what 
these critics said was not to be considered as possible 
as early as the patriarch's days. In other words, he 
conquered the land from the Persian Gulf unto 
the Mediterranean. On the following page a por- 
tion of his inscription which is in the Museum of 
the University of Pennsylvania (see page 44) reads : 

When Bel, lord of lands to Lugal-zaggisi the kingship 
of the world had given, before the world had made him 
to prosper, lands under his power had given; from the 
rising of the sun to the going down of the sun he sub- 
dued; then from the sea, the lower, the Tigris and Eu- 
phrates, to the sea, the upper, his path he made straight; 
from the rising of the sun to the going down of sun. 
Bel, the ruler over everything (?) delivered unto him, 
[and] the lands dwell in peace. 

The bearing of all these results upon the question 
has forced the critics to propound a new hypothesis, 
which in substance, as regards its relation to the 
historicity of the patriarchal period, is equally 
obstinately negative in character. In the exile the 
Hebrew writer became acquainted with these names 
of ancient Babylonian and Elamitic history, besides 
other authentic data, and then invented the story, 
in which the fictitious Abraham was brought into 
conflict with them and made the hero. In the light 
of ancient discoveries, were this correct, we should 



The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 139 

be forced to exclaim, What accurate knowledge of 
early Babylonian, Elamitic, and Palestine affairs 



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was possessed by this historian ! In short, the work 
of this Hebrew investigator of questions in historical 



140 Light on the Old Testament 

geography and in the political affairs of several 
ancient nations, which, as mentioned before, shows 
such a surprisingly accurate knowledge of chrono- 
logical and other data, would certainly be unique. 
Historians should insist that this unknown savant 
be canonized or immortalized. 

The chapter on the other hand, as has been pointed 
out, offers every indication that the data bearing 
upon Palestine belong, not to the late days of Hebrew 
history, but to very ancient times. With possibly 
only one exception, the names of peoples and places, 
as far as they have been identified, indicate that 
they belong to a pre-biblical period. When the 
document which had been handed down was used, 
the writer found it necessary to introduce, by way 
of explanation, the names familiar in his own day; 
as, for instance, ■" Bela (the same is Zoar)," "En- 
mishpat (the same is Kadesh)." Would these 
critics suggest that the writer introduced these 
explanatory notes in order that his romance might 
have the appearance of an ancient document? 
These glosses, and in fact everything, seem to point 
to early Palestine origin for the record. But with 
this phase of the subject, upon which considerable 
can be said, we are not at the present concerned. 

In order to demonstrate what a change archeology 
has wrought in a few years, and also to show how 
some critics have readjusted themselves, offering that 
which is still far-reaching as regards the historical 
worth of the chapter, let me quote the following 



The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 141 

by Professor George Adam Smith. In his " Modern 
Criticism and the Preaching of the Old Testament ' ' 
(p. 101), he says: "We must admit that while 
archaeology has richly illustrated the possibility 
of the main outlines of the Book of Genesis from 
Abraham to Joseph, it has not one whit of proof 
to offer for the personal existence or characters of 
the patriarchs themselves. . . . But amidst 
all that crowded life we peer in vain for any trace 
of the fathers of the Hebrews; we listen in vain 
for any mention of their names. This is the whole 
change archaeology has wrought: it has given us 
a background and an atmosphere for the stories 
of Genesis; it is unable to recall or certify their 
heroes." 

What a change recent researches have brought 
about! With what silence the former conclusions, 
which were proclaimed with the utmost assurance, 
are now treated! Instead of the historical back- 
ground being altogether different from that repre- 
sented in Genesis, it is now admitted to be in strict 
accordance with it. And on the other hand, while 
so much light has been thrown upon this chapter, 
in which the very "atmosphere" is acknowledged 
as having been restored, absolutely nothing has been 
revealed whereby its accuracy can be impugned, — 
let me repeat, absolutely nothing. Doubt, however, 
continues to be thrown upon the historicity of the 
patriarchs themselves; and they are relegated to 
the region of myth and legend ; not because a single 



142 Light on the Old Testament 

datum has been found to substantiate, inferentially 
or otherwise, such a view, but because some have 
" peered in vain for any trace " of them in the records 
of the past ; or they have their fanciful theories to 
propound. 

As stated before, when contact with a foreign 
power is mentioned in the Old Testament, and we 
are able to examine the annals of that power, refer- 
ence to such contact is in nearly every case found. 
While Elamitic and Babylonian inscriptions may be 
discovered which will mention this well-known 
invasion, the truth is, even the most sanguine 
archeologist could not expect from such sources 
any mention whatever of the patriarch himself. 1 
Abraham was a small shaykh, a tolerated inhabi- 
tant ; perhaps one of the many who in his day occu- 
pied that region. He grazed his flocks in one locality 
until the pasture was insufficient for his herds, 
after which he found it necessary to move on. When 
he desired to secure Lot from the invaders, he could 



1 Some years ago Professor Hommel, through an oversight, 
made the statement that the name Abi-ramu (Abram) was 
found on a contract tablet of the Hammurabi dynasty. (See also 
Pinches, Old Testament in Light, etc., p. 148.) This has quite 
frequently been used by others; but the name is to be read 
Abi-erakh. See Ranke, Die Personennamen in den Urkunden der 
Hammurabidynastie, p. 48. Abi-ramu (Abram) is found to be 
the name of an official during the reign of Esarhaddon, and 
recently has been found on an Egyptian monument belonging- 
to Shishak, as reported in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly 
Statement, Jan. 1905, p. 7. 



The Fourteenth Chapter of Genesis 143 

only muster three hundred and eighteen men, which 
included those of his allies, Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. 
And although the four kings were routed by some 
kind of strategy, even if annals were written, as in 
later times, any reference to a disaster would be 
entirely unlooked-for; besides, Abraham was very 
likely unknown to them by name. 

The increase of knowledge gained through the 
inscriptions of this period has in every instance 
dissolved conclusions arrived at by those critics 
who maintain that the patriarchs are not to be 
regarded as historical. And in view of these things 
is it not reasonable to expect the specialist who 
desires to theorize to confine his suppositions and 
conjectures, until he has some kind of facts upon 
which to base them, to scientific journals, or, in 
other words, that he should not popularize them, and 
bring them within the range of the understanding 
of the Sunday-school scholar. 




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VII 

BABYLONIAN LIFE IN THE DAYS 
OF ABRAHAM 

Not many decades ago, Abraham was supposed 
to belong well-nigh to the dawn of civilization. That 
there was a nation with a highly-developed culture 
millenniums before his day was not generally 
appreciated, notwithstanding the fact that we learn 
in Genesis that he came in contact, for instance, 
with the Hittite, a representative of a mighty nation 
to the north of Palestine, the Amorite, and other 
peoples of Canaan, besides a pharaoh of Egypt. 
The excavator; archeologist, and decipherer have 
given a clearer conception of those days, and have 
already restored the history of a period about as 
long prior to Abraham as we are after ; or, in other 
words, they now place the patriarch midway in 
the written history of man. 

The dynasty that governed Babylon during 
Abraham's life is known as the first dynasty of 
Babylon. The names of the rulers are : Sumu-abi, 
Sumu-la-ilu, Zabium, Abil-Sin, Sin-muballit, Ham- 
murabi, Samsu-iluna, Abi-eshukh, Ammi-ditana, 
Ammi-zaduga, and Samsu-ditana. With the excep- 
tion of one or two scholars, who believe that all the 

10 145 



146 Light on the Old Testament 

rulers were of Babylonian origin, scholars unite in 
saying that they are not indigenous to the land, 
except perhaps Sin-muballit and Abil-Sin. Even 
these were doubtless foreigners, who had assumed 
Babylonian names, a practise commonly known to 
have existed. The nomenclature of the contract 
literature of this dynasty, having hundreds of 
foreign names, shows unmistakably that a large 
foreign Semitic population was settled in Babylonia 
at this time, especially in the vicinity of Sippar. 
Earlier literature does not show this influence, while 
in the Cassite period, several centuries later than 
the time of which we speak, it has totally dis- 
appeared. 

The exact source of this foreign influence is also 
a controverted point. Some scholars declare that 
the origin of the dynasty is Arabian, while others 
regard the rulers to be Canaanites. This much seems 
to be certain : They can be called Western Semites 
or Amorites. The country Amurru, i. e., the West- 
land, embraced the entire country west of the 
Euphrates up to the shores of the Mediterranean. 
Perhaps it even included the northern part of 
Arabia; this would account for the foreign element 
in Babylonia at this time, which shows Arabic 
influences. 

Our knowledge of the Semitic tongues of Arabia, 
Canaan, and other parts of this district of this 
early time, is too meager to come to any further 
conclusions on the subject. The earliest date tenta- 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 147 

tively fixed for the Minaean (Arabic) inscriptions 
is 1400 B. C. The earliest extra-biblical inscriptions 
of Canaanite origin are the glosses written in Hebrew 
on the Tel el-Amarna cuneiform tablets, which 
belong to the same period; in other words, about 
seven centuries after the time of Hammurabi. 
What language was spoken in Canaan in his day is 
not known. The Western-Semitic names in question 
may be found later on to represent the Palestine 
language of that time. It may have been a kind 
of a mixture of Arabic, or of some other Semitic 
language, which developed into what we know as 
Hebrew. But the writer is inclined to think that 
the language of Canaan, as represented in the later 
times by the Hebrew, Phoenician, and the Moabitic 
dialects, goes back to a time in Palestine so remote 
as to be lost in the mists of antiquity. If, for in- 
stance, the Babylonian is already a fixed tongue at 
4000 B.C., and has changed grammatically very 
little in the four thousand years of its known history ; 
and, also, if the oldest portion of Hebrew, generally 
fixed not later than 1500 B. C, is very little different 
from the latest Hebrew, showing that it was already 
a fixed language at that early date, it seems that 
we have excellent reasons for concluding that the 
language of Canaan was practically the same in 
the days of the first dynasty of Babylon as it was a 
few centuries later. If, therefore, the foreign ele- 
ments referred to cannot be regarded as belonging 
to the Canaanite language, or the Hebrew with 



148 Light on the Old Testament 

which we are familiar, then the influence must come 
from elsewhere. Presumably, however, this much 
is certain: the language is one of the Western- 
Semitic tongues. 

While a number of kings reigned in this dynasty 
prior to Hammurabi (the Amraphel of Genesis 14), 
the country over which they ruled seems to be 
limited to the district about Babylon. The land was 
divided into petty principalities, each having its 
independent system of government. An Elamite, 
whose name was Rim-Sin or Arioch, exercised 
control over the southern part of the valley, with 
his government at Larsa. But in Hammurabi's 
thirty-first year, when he conquered this land as 
well as Emutbal, a part of Elam, the entire country 
came under his sway (see preceding chapter). 

The usual order had been that, when a king con- 
quered one of the surrounding rulers, tribute was 
exacted, and the conquered one was held in sub- 
jection by force. Such a union was dissolved as 
soon as the one conquered was strong enough to 
throw off the yoke, or the conquering city had in 
turn been conquered by another. Hammurabi, 
however, introduced a new policy. He not only 
controlled effectively the country which he had 
acquired through conquest, but he amalgamated the 
heterogeneous and discordant elements into a united 
kingdom. He unified them by reorganizing their 
administrations, and appointed over them those who 
were familiar with his own form of government. 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 149 

His officers assumed control of the various centers, 
which were developed along prescribed lines until 
all were welded into one united whole, with the 
central government at Babylon. For nearly two 
millenniums, including the centuries of the foreign 
rule of the Cassites, Assyrians, Persians, and others, 
the hegemony of Babylon which was established 
by his efforts was not disturbed. 

Hammurabi's administrative ability is well illus- 
trated by a large number of his official letters, 
which have been published by Mr. L. W. King, 
of the British Museum. They were all written by 
the same scribe, and addressed to his governor Sin- 
idinnam, at Larsa. The latter had jurisdiction over 
several other cities, among them being Ur and 
Erech. The fact that he was stationed at Larsa 
would imply that the letters which are not dated 
belong to the period subsequent to the defeat of 
Elam, i. e., after the thirty-first year of his reign; 
for Arioch, the Elamite prince, had his capital at 
that city. 

The letters originally had been encased, the 
envelopes containing the address, something like 
"To Sin-idinnam. " The cases doubtless contained, 
in addition to the address, the impressions of Ham- 
murabi's seal. On the receipt of a letter the case 
was peeled off. Here and there small portions of 
the envelopes have adhered to the letters. Being 
a king's epistle to a subject, the opening formula 
is brief: "Unto Sin-idinnam say: — thus saith 



150 Light on the Old Testament 

Hammurabi." What he desired to communicate 
immediately followed. 

Through this correspondence we get a remarkable 
insight into the internal affairs of his administration. 
From it we learn that one of the characteristic 
features of his reign was that he gave personal 
attention to minor details, as well as to the general 
oversight of the affairs of his kingdom. In one letter, 
an order is given that certain Elamite goddesses, 
which had been taken in conquest, should be brought 
to Babylon. In another letter, he orders that they 
should be returned to their shrines. Special atten- 
tion is devoted to the construction, repairing, and 
dredging of canals, in order to develop the natural 
resources of the land. The work seems to have been 
conducted by the government. The residents along 
the canals were required to keep them in repair, 
but the general oversight of this work was in the 
hands of the king. He is found superintending the 
collection of revenues, exercising control over the 
priesthood, and requiring the strict observance of 
omens in order that disasters might be avoided. 

Again, we find the king giving orders for the 
restoration of property, which had been illegally 
claimed or retained, or for the investigation of 
personal claims. In some instances he sent instruc- 
tions as to how cases were to be tried. Several 
letters are practically warrants for the arrest of 
certain individuals, who were to be brought to Baby- 
lon. Some are summonses for officials to render their 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 151 

accounts, that they might be audited. Orders are 
given for the despatching of troops, and ships, or 
for the sheep-shearers to come to the capital in 
order to take part in the annual festival. Directions 
are given for the cutting of certain kinds of trees, 
or for the transportation of slaves and workmen, 
or of products, to Babylon. He arranged for the 
inspection of royal flocks and herds. In other words, 
the king seems to have given attention to the smallest 
detail of his administration. While the governor 
is requested to investigate certain affairs, and 
render decisions, everything he does is subject to 
the king's approval. Babylon seems to have been 
the seat of the supreme court, with Hammurabi 
acting as the chief justice. He even tried ordinary 
cases himself. In one instance he rendered a de- 
cision favorable to a citizen against one of his gov- 
ernors. Money-lenders he punished for extortion, 
or for failing to cancel mortgages after they had 
been satisfied. In order to prevent collusion on the 
part of witnesses, in cases that he tried, he ordered 
his governor to send them separately to Babylon. 
A very interesting letter shows how the calendar 
was regulated. Throughout their history the Baby- 
lonians observed the lunar months, the names of 
which the Jews substituted for their own after the 
captivity. In consequence, it became necessary 
about every third year to insert an intercalary 
month. This was usually done in the middle, or 
at the end, of the year. Hammurabi in a letter to 



152 Light on the Old Testament 

his governor Sin-idinnam, after he mentioned 
the fact that the year had a deficiency, ordered that 
the month upon which they were entering should 
be called " Second Elul," instead of Tishri, the month 
that followed Elul. But he added: " Instead of the 
tribute arriving in Babylon on the twenty-fifth day 
of the month Tishri, let it arrive in Babylon on the 
twenty-fifth day of Second Elul." In other words, 
he pushed on the calendar, but was unwilling to 
wait a month for his revenues. 

A king's piety seems to have been determined by 
what he accomplished in the way of restoring and 
embellishing temples, building shrines, or making 
endowments to the sanctuary. One of the ways 
the people recognized these works, as well as com- 
memorated other great deeds of the king in the way 
of conquest or in serving the people, was by naming 
the year of the king's reign after the event. This 
manner of dating offers considerable information 
for the reconstruction of history. The first year 
usually mentions the beginning of the reign; viz., 
"The year in which Hammurabi became king." 
Unfortunately the chronicles, or rather the lists of 
titles given to the separate years which record these 
dates of the first dynasty, are fragmentary; but the 
following selection from Hammurabi's reign will 
serve to illustrate their character, and what they 
teach us. "The year [third] in which the throne of 
Nannar [was made]." "The year [fourth] in which 
the wall of Malga was destroyed." "The year 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 153 

[ninth] in which the canal Hammurabi [was dug]." 
"The year [twelfth] in which the throne of Sar- 
panitum [was made]." "The year [fourteenth] 
in which the wall of Sippara was built." "The year 
[thirtieth] in which the army of Elam [was defeated]." 
" The year [thirty-first] in which the land of Emutbal 
[was conquered]." "The year [thirty-second] in 

which the army of " "The year 

[thirty-eighth] in which the city Umliash [was de- 
stroyed] by flood." The closing line of this list, 
which gives the years for his reign reads: "The 
forty- three years of Hammurabi the king." 

All documents in the early period of Babylonian 
history are dated according to these titles of the 
years. This system was exceedingly cumbersome 
in comparison with the method adopted in the later 
centuries in Babylonia, when the number of the 
years of the reign of the king was used. It must 
have been necessary for business men as well as 
others who kept records to have their individual 
lists of the names of years, as it would be difficult 
to remember them for any length of time. Further, 
in some sections of the land another set of titles 
was employed, commemorating events which were 
of greater importance to the people of that portion 
of the country. In the Assyrian inscriptions of the 
late period, as is well known, a system somewhat 
similar was used. Each year was known by the 
name of an official. For example, the first year, 
the king's name was used; the following, the next 



154 Light on the Old Testament 

highest official; like, Limmu Bel-illatua, i.e., "The 
eponym of Bel-illatua." But in Babylonia, during 
the centuries which followed the Hammurabi dy- 
nasty, all dating was according to the year of the 
king's reign. 

In the prologue and epilogue of his code, which 
is discussed in the following chapter, Hammurabi 
mentions numerous temples and shrines that he 
enlarged and restored or adorned; also that he 
enriched certain cities; that he brought prosperity 
to others by giving them abundance of water; in 
general, that he was a most benevolent monarch. 
He calls himself a "father of his people." As a 
lawgiver and as an administrator of laws he appears 
in a most favorable light, and seems to have earned 
the nattering and honorific titles he credits himself 
with, in his code. His letters to his governor justify 
him in thus regarding himself. In short, Oriental 
despotism, which characterized the rule of so many 
ancients, is not apparent; but, on the" other hand, 
we find a benevolent ruler who, by his energetic 
efforts in improving the social and material con- 
ditions of the people, must have won their favor. 

Quite a number of letters written by private 
individuals living in this age, have also been found. 
They are, as a rule, more difficult to understand 
than official letters, as they presuppose private 
relations of which we can have no knowledge. In 
one, a man who is held in prison sent the letter with 
the jailer or gateman to the man who imprisoned 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 155 

him, complaining of his treatment. He calls the 
jail a starvation house. He says he is ill, and asks 
for food and clothing. He pleads that he is not a 
robber, nor a burglar, but he is imprisoned because 
the Sutu fell upon him, and took the oil which he, 
his master, sent him with across the river. 

In another letter, a son wrote to his father that 
he was located at Dur-Sin, where there was no meat 
fit to eat. He sent his father two-thirds of a shekel 
of silver, that he might send some nice fish and other 
viands. A votary from a royal family, who was in 
connection with some temple, wrote to her father, 
reminding him of his promise to send a sheep and 
five minas of silver, which he failed to keep. 

The following l may be regarded as a love letter 
of Abraham's time, although the exact relations 
of the correspondents cannot be determined. Bibea, 
the one addressed, is a lady. 

'To Bibea say, thus saith Gimil-Marduk : May 
the gods Shamash and Marduk permit thee to live 
forever for my sake. I write to inquire concerning 
thy health. Tell me how thou art. I went to Baby- 
lon, but did not see thee. I was greatly disappointed. 
Send the reason for thy leaving, that I may be 
happy. Do come in the month Marchesvan. Keep 
well always for my sake." 

There are indications that a regular post, or 



1 Published by Father Schiel, Une Saison de fouilles d 
Sip par, p. 131. . 



156 Light on the Old Testament 

system of despatching letters and packages, was in 
existence at this time. Besides letters, other evi- 
dences of such a post have been found; notably a 
large number of lumps of clay, which are labels 
or tags, belonging to this and other periods. On 
some the marks of the cord which passed through 
the bit of clay are clearly visible. Others contained 
the names of the individuals for whom the parcels 
were intended, besides the seal impressions of the 
sender. Several found at Telloh contain impressions 
of the seal of Sargon, king of Agade (about 3800 
B. C), which belonged to parcels he sent to his son 
Naram-Sin, who was then acting as viceroy in that 
city. In all probability there was a regular post 
in existence between the different cities of Sargon's 
empire. 

The following translation of a little Sumerian 
record belonging to the latter half of the third 
millennium B. C. shows how messengers were pro- 
vided with the necessities of life on their journeys. 
It records what was furnished them for their journey 
between the city in which it was written and In- 
nanna-erin. The amounts were paid from the treas- 
ury of the temple storehouse. The record is for one 
month. Whether the tablet indicates the number 
of trips made each month, or whether the carriers 
were despatched only when something was to be 
delivered, cannot be determined. 

3 qa of date wine for Shunagargid, the messenger. 
5 qa of date wine for Awil-Nannar, the courier, who came 




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158 Light on the Old Testament 

from the city Innanna-erin. 5 qa of date wine [for one 
day's stay] in the City, and 1 gur of wine, made from the 
5^4 herb, for the journey for Susha-laba,the courier.who 
goes to the city Innanna-erin. 10 qa of date wine for 
two days' [stay in the city] for Nabium (?), the courier, 
who comes from Innanna-erin. 5 qa of date wine [for 
one days' stay] in the city, and 1 gur of wine from the 
SA herb for the journey for Dingir-masu(?), the courier, 
who goes to Innanna-erin. 3 qa of date wine for Ubar, 
the messenger, who comes from Innanna-erin. 20 qa 
of date wine for four days' [stay in the city] for Awil-Ea, 
the courier. 60 qa of oil for the herdsman of the City 
Gishgal(?) [all of] which are to be taken out of the 
temple [storehouse, in the] month Ezen-Dumuzi (i. e., 
the Hebrew month Tishri). 



Babylonia being an alluvial plain, somewhat 
removed from stone, developed architecturally al- 
most entirely with clay as a building material. 
As a result the remains of the builders' work are 
largely in terra-cotta or sun-dried clay. Occasion- 
ally some great ruler imported stone from central 
Arabia, or the mountains along the Euphrates to 
the northwest, for statues, door-sockets, vases, 
votive objects, etc., but generally the antiquities 
discovered, which belong to the e very-day life 
of the people are in clay. 

There have been found, however, a number of 
stone statues of the third millennium which are 
remarkable creations for this stoneless land. At 
Telloh, eight headless statues over and under life 
size were found in the central court of Gudea's 
palace. Several heads of other statues were also 



X 







Heads of dolerite statues found at Telloh. 



160 Light on the Old Testament 

recovered, broken off doubtless at the time of 
some invasion. At Nippur were found a torso and 
a head, besides other fragments, belonging to 
similar statues. They are made of a hard igneous 
rock, dolerite. Gudea imported this stone for his 
statues from Magan, i.e., Northeast Arabia, which 
borders on Babylonia. 

The anatomy of the figures is surprisingly well 
rendered. The cheeks, chin, and mouth have been 
carefully studied. The nose is somewhat arched. 
The eyelids are good, although too wide open. 
The hair is represented by lines arranged in herring- 
bone fashion. The muscles of the arm swell because 
of the folded or clasped hands. The finger-nails 
are delicately carved. The drapery is in awkward 
folds over the left shoulder, leaving the right arm 
bare. Two of the statues found at Telloh represent 
Gudea (about 3000 B. C.) as an architect or builder. 
In one of these he has a plan of his palace resting 
on his lap. It shows the large gates and towers. 
The scale according to which the plan is drawn 
accompanies it. The skirt of the statue is covered 
with inscriptions in the Sumerian language. There 
is a lack of animation in the face, and a heaviness 
and a squat tiness of the form, which is not at all 
pleasing, especially when compared with the work 
of the Memphite sculptor of a still earlier age; yet 
the knowledge of anatomy displayed, and the 
minutiae of detail as worked out, besides taking 
into consideration the skill of the workman who cut 




Statue of Gudea. The building plan of his palace rests on his lap. It is accom 
panied with the scale according to which it was drawn. 



II 



162 Light on the Old Testament 

his statues out of the hardest kind of stone, rightly 
deserve our admiration. Allowances must be made 
for school conventions, but these statues offer 
valuable material for the physiological study of the 
Sumerian people, the early inhabitants of the valley. 

A great many vases, of different sizes and shapes, 
cut out of hard as well as soft stone, have been 
found belonging to the third, the fourth, and the 
fifth millenniums before Christ. Some show on the 
inside the marks of the tools which were used 
in making them. All such marks are obliterated 
on the outside, as the vases had been polished. The 
regularity of these tool marks and the symmetry 
of the vases clearly indicate that a lathe was em- 
ployed in their manufacture. The neatness and 
fineness of execution and the beautiful designs 
make some of them superior to the products of later 
times. The same is true of the skill of the gem- 
cutter (see page 55). 

The work of the smith is represented by many 
antiquities in silver and bronze. Objects in gold, 
such as the images of gods which were placed in the 
temples, have not been discovered. In a number 
of instances, gold objects used as jewelry have been 
found in the coffins which were excavated. In 
bronze, there have been found votive images, 
various utensils, jewelry, weapons, and tools of many 
kinds. Gudea informs us that he imported copper 
from Nejd, and gold from Medina and Melukhkha 
in the Sinai tic peninsula. 





Statues in dolerite from Telloh, illustrating the female dress of the third millen- 
nium before Christ. 



164 Light on the Old Testament 

Of special interest are the bronze canephori 
or basket-carriers, which have been found at Telloh. 
They were usually dedicated to the gods for the 
preservation of the donor's life. De Sarzec found 
small cavities constructed in the platforms of build- 
ings in which these and similar votive objects, used 
doubtless as talismans, had been walled up. As in 
Greece, with a single exception they are female 
figures. It is well known that the office of a cane- 
phorus carried with it great distinction among the 
classic Greeks. Only the daughters of the first 
Athenian families were honored with this excep- 
tional distinction. 

In one of the images found at Telloh, the limbs 
are not worked out, but the lower part forms a cone. 
On this there is an inscription of Dungi, king of 
Ur, about 2750 B. C. Another has a skirt, but it is 
not inscribed. The third is that of a male figure, 
carrying a basket exactly as the females. It bears 
a votive inscription to the goddess Nana by Rim-Sin 
(the biblical Arioch), king of Larsa. Several female 
basket-carriers have been found which contain 
votive inscriptions of Kudur-Mabug, father of 
Arioch. The Berlin Museum has secured an ex- 
ceptionally well-preserved specimen (see illustra- 
tion, page 134). It is dedicated to the goddess 
Nana, "who is adorned with splendor and over- 
flowing with grace." 

Little is known concerning the musical attain- 
ments of this age. At Telloh, belonging to an earlier 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 165 

time, a fragment of an interesting bas-relief was 
found in the ruins of Gudea's palace. It has two 
compartments. In the upper, one of the four figures 
is represented with a kind of cymbal, or paten, 




Bas-relief in stone, depicting musicians. (Third millennium B. C) 



and an object which was used for striking it. An- 
other carries something like a flute. In the lower 
part of the relief, there is a seated figure playing a 
harp, which has eleven strings. The foot of the harp 



166 Light on the Old Testament 

is adorned with the figure of a bull. Before the harper 
stands a singer, or a worshiper, in a reverential 
attitude, perhaps before a deity. 1 

In the first dynasty of Babylon, there was a large 
number of scribes. Nearly all the legal documents 
of this period that have been translated are found 
to have been written by different scribes. A number 
of women are known to have belonged to this pro- 
fession, as seems to be the case also in the Assyrian 
period. 2 There are indications that lead us to 
suppose that the scribe shaved his head and beard, 
that he wore his toga thrown over his left shoulder, 
and kept his right arm bare. 

The scribe wrote the legal documents, and doubt- 
less most of the letters of private individuals. In 
writing a contract, the entire document was his 
work, even to the making of the seal impressions 
upon the tablet, in proximity to which he wrote the 
name of the owner. The individual, therefore, 
whose seal was used handed it to the scribe for 
him to make the impression. This is clearly shown 
by the regularity with which they were made, and 
their position on the tablet. 

1 For the later Assyrian period of the first millennium B. C, 
considerable is known of musicians and their instruments. 

2 The Rev. C. H. W. Johns of Cambridge, England, in 
his valuable treatise, Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Con- 
tracts, and Letters, p. 151, calls attention to an Assyrian 
document which mentions six female aba, which word he trans- 
lates "scribe" or "secretary." In the Neo-Babylonian period, 
women scribes are not mentioned. 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 167 

The writing materials in all ages of Babylonian 
and Assyrian history were clay, stone, and metal. 
If papyrus was ever used, no trace of it has been 
preserved. The number of noteworthy objects 
which have been found in metal is comparatively 
small, as, for example, the canephorus in bronze, 
described on page 164, or the silver vase of Entemena 
(see page 52) found by De Sarzec at Telloh. In- 
scribed objects which were dedicated to the gods, 
such as vases, slabs, etc., were usually in stone. 
This and other materials were employed for seal- 
cylinders, door-sockets, boundary-stones, etc. 

In all ages, so far as is known, clay was the stand- 
ard writing material for literary, historical, legal, 
and personal matters. A clay was used which was 
free from grit, or which was washed well, in order to 
clear it of as much of the sand as possible. The 
scribes apparently selected a clay containing con- 
siderable marl or chalk. 1 They doubtless had 
observed that clay with a good percentage of chalk 
does not shrink much and crack upon drying out. 
This is due to the fact that the chalk is not hydrous, 
and will not take up water. After the clay had been 
washed and thoroughly kneaded, it had remarkable 
adhesive power; so that tablets which were simply 
sun-dried, although buried in the damp earth for 
chiliads, have remained intact. Naturally, the 

1 See the writer's, Business Documents of Murashu Sons, 
B. E. Vol. X, p. I. 



168 Light on the Old Testament 

greatest care must be observed when unbaked tablets 
are excavated, for they fall to pieces if roughly 
handled. After they are thoroughly dried out, 
the old adhesiveness is again restored. Some sun- 
dried clay tablets are so hard that even experts are 
at times misled into regarding them as kiln-dried. 

The clay in a plastic condition is shaped into the 
size desired. As the style of paper in the present age 
is in a measure an indication of the general character 
of the document, so the size and shape of the in- 
scribed clay tablet is indicative, in a general way, 
of the contents. Historical literature of the Assyrian 
period, as well as inscriptions which - record the 
erection or restoration of buildings, is found as a 
rule on cylinders of various sizes and shapes. Some 
are quadrangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, etc. Some 
are cone-shaped, or are in the form of a bombshell. 
Literary writings of the Assyrian people were gener- 
ally inscribed on good-sized tablets. Legal docu- 
ments, although differing in form in the various 
periods, are also readily recognized by their shape. 
In the Hammurabi and Cassite dynasties, the scribe 
usually held the tablet so that the lines passed across 
the narrow part, while in the Neo-Babylonian they 
ran across the tablet lengthwise. Letters are usually 
written across the narrow side. Inscribed votive 
cones, plans of cities, and estates, and topographical 
maps, are also found in clay, and have been found in 
various sizes and shapes. 

The stylus used by the scribe was a very simple 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 169 

affair. Any stick of metal or hard wood which had a 
square corner could be used. By holding it beneath 
the palm of the hand between the thumb and the 
index finger, and by pressing the angular corner 
into the soft clay, the impression will be that of a 
wedge. Using the Latin word cuneus for wedge, 




Square end stylus. 




Beveled end stylus. 

the writing has been called the cuneiform. All 
characters are made up of single wedges at different 
angles, and the winkelhaken ("angular hook"), 
which is made by laying the stylus over on its side 
with the handle towards the right, using the angle x. 
When the square end stylus is used the writing ap- 
pears thus: 



TV-VI < 



From the time of the first dynasty, a very marked 
peculiarity of many of the styli was that the top 
was made to slope to one side (see illustration). 
In consequence, the top of the perpendicular wedge 



170 Light on the Old Testament 

was higher on the left side than on the right, and the 
angle of the winkelhaken was less than a right angle, 
thus : V^ j when the beveled end stylus was used. 



;,*f§!N^#* , - <J: „&?..' \ ' a 



An original tablet. 



■ ■ t 






Written with beveled end stylus. 

The latter varies according to the slope of the top 
of the stylus. The greater it is, the smaller is the 
angle of the " hook." 1 This slope was made to vary 
according to the desire of the scribe, which enabled 

3 On this subject, see further remarks by the writer in Docu- 
ments from the Temple Archives, B. E. Vol. XIV, p. 19 f. 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 171 

him, in this way, to emphasize the individuality 
of his writing. 

The stylus in Assyrian was called qanii ("reed"), 
or qan-duppi ("tablet reed" or "stylus"). This 
would imply that the scribes usually used reed- 
wood to make their styli. Attention has been 
called 1 to impressions on some tablets which show 
the roundness of the reed out of which the stylus 
was made. The wood of reeds, which grow in 
abundance in marshy places, is quite hard, and does 
not readily absorb water; in consequence, it is 
quite suitable to write upon the soft clay. 

Judging from the thousands of seals, signets, 
and seal-cylinders which have been found, and the 
thousands of tablets which contain seal impressions, 
the information given us by the classical writers that 
practically every man of any standing in a com- 
munity had his seal, is intelligible. They were 
usually cut out of hard stone, such as lapis-lazuli, 
carnelian, green jasper, agate, onyx, crystal, slate, 
shell, etc. Some are in metal, and judging from the 
exquisitely fine work, as indicated on some tablets, 
especially in the Cassite period when a characteristic 
feature was a decorative border at the top and 
bottom of the seals (see illustrations page 173), it 
is thought 2 that some had been capped with gold. 

1 See Dr. Messerschmidt's interesting article in Oriental- 
istische Litter aturzeitung, Vol. 9, No. 5. 

2 See Dr. W. H. Ward's remark in my Documents from the 
Temple Archives of Nippur, p. 15. 




u 



C 



£ 

3 
<U 
in 

3 

s 

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s 

O 



0> 

C 



-a 

n 
rt 






Babylonia in Days of Abraham 173 

The cylinders usually have a hole passing through 
them, presumably for the purpose of inserting some 
kind of an instrument that enabled them to roll 
the cylinder over the clay, or to insert a string in 
order to attach them to their person. Seal rings and 




Case tablets of the Cassite Period, containing seal impressions. 



signets were used, especially in the Neo- Babylonian 
and Persian periods. In a number of instances the 
impressions of both a cylinder and a signet of an 
individual are found upon documents. 

The use of the seal did not differ from its ordinary 



174 Light on the Old Testament 




The earliest known form of the centaur, 
reproduced from seal impressions on a tablet, 
time of the Cassites. 



usage in modern times. It was equivalent to the 
individual's signature. The entire document, as 

mentioned (page 
1 66), was written 
by the scribe; but 
the use of the seal 
made it binding by 
the contracting par- 
ties. Usually only 
the obligor or debtor 
or the one who gave 
the document as a 
receipt left his seal 
impression; in some cases there are found the seal 
impressions of the witnesses and the judge before 
whom the business was transacted. On not a single 
document of the sons of Murashu does the seal 
impression of the individual appear in whose interest 
the tablet was made, or who was the creditor. 
He held the tablet as a receipt, or as a record of the 
debtor's obligations. In the Cassite archives, the 
man who delivered at the residence of the officers 
their salary, which was paid in kind, left his seal 
impression upon the records of that payment. This 
was held by the bursar of the Temple storehouse. 
In most periods, notably later than the Ham- 
murabi dynasty, the individual who did not possess 
a seal made thumb-nail marks in the soft clay^ 
alongside of which the scribe usually wrote supurshu, 
1 'his thumb-nail mark," or added his name, supur 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 175 

Bel-erba, " thumb nail of Bel-erba." In some cases 
the words kima kunukkishu, "instead of his seal," 
were added. These were regarded as equivalent 
to his seal. In the tablets of the Cassite period, I 
found another substitute for the seal, which the 
ancients called sisiktu} The word means "cloth." 
A tablet in the Berlin Museum, which was also 
recently published, clearly shows cloth marks 2 near 
the marks of the sisiktu. A tablet of the University 
of Pennsylvania collection, which is roughly made, 




Thumb-nail marks instead of seal impression, Achaemenian Period. 

may have cloth marks; but on the four tablets of 
the latter collection on which the marks of the 
sisiktu were made, there is a clearly-defined little 
hole. This shows that the sisiktu, which perhaps 
referred to some part of the garment, had in connec- 
tion with it that which could be used to make this 
little hole. In a building inscription of Nebu- 
chadrezzar the king is referred to as standing before 

1 See Documents from the Temple Archives of Nippur, 
B. E. Vol. XIV, p. 13. 

2 Ungnad, Orientalistische Litteraturzeitung, Vol. IX, No. 3. 



176 Light on the Old Testament 

the image of his god, whose sisiktu he takes hold of. 
It is thought that this refers to his garment. Per- 
haps it was his girdle, to which something was 
appended. On one of the Cassite records from the 
temple storehouse, an individual left his thumb- 






Tablets showing holes made by the sisiktu. 

nail marks as well as that of the sisiktu, which were 
used instead of his seal. 

Letters, contracts, and certain kinds of records 
were frequently encased; that is, the tablet was 
wrapped in a thin layer of clay, which formed an 
envelope. In connection with the study of the 
administrative temple records of the Cassite dynasty, 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 177 

the writer made some experiments which enabled 
him to arrive at the following conclusions: It was 
not necessary to allow the tablet to dry out before it 
was enveloped, in order to prevent the case from 
clinging to it ; and the statement that. the tablet was 
powdered with clay to prevent the case from per- 
manently sticking to it can not be based upon 
experiments made in encasing tablets, for it would 
have been found that material thus used tends to 




Tablet and envelope. The inscription of tne tablet is repeated on the envelope. 

close up the impressions of the stylus. Immediately 
after the document was written, or perhaps after 
the clay had set somewhat, so that it could not lose 
its shape when being encased, the thin layer was 
folded about it. By dipping it into water, the scribe 
could readily remove all traces of cracks with his 
fingers. Occasionally the case clings here and there 
to the tablet, but as a rule it can be peeled off 
without much difficulty. If it were a letter, the 
name of the individual for whom it was intended 

12 



178 Light on the Old Testament 

was written upon the envelope, the sender at the 
same time making impressions of his seal upon it. 
If it were a contract or record, the entire contents, 
as a rule, were repeated on the outside. Occasionally 
the tablet proper does not contain the name of 
witnesses, or the name of the king, in whose reign the 
tablet is dated. These were written on the envelope. 
On the other hand, if it is a record of a debt, the 
envelope may not contain the statement that the 
obligor received what is mentioned on it. The full 
statement was written upon the tablet proper. The 
seal impressions which are found on the case made 
it clear that the man whose name was written 
in connection with his seal was the debtor. 

The reason why tablets were encased was prac- 
tically the same that we have for using envelopes. 
Primarily it was for prudential purposes. It was an 
easy matter to change amounts recorded on clay 
tablets, even if the documents were baked. By 
cutting a perpendicular wedge before the sign 
which equals 10 (the winkelhaken, pages 169, 170), 
the amount would be 70. 1 But if the tablet 
was encased and the impression of the obligor's 
seal was made on the envelope, it would be impossible 
for the creditor, who held the tablet, to alter the 
amount unless he peeled off the envelope, — in which 

1 The Babylonians used the sexigesimal system of numbers. 
The perpendicular wedge equals one and also sixty. Placing 
the perpendicular wedge after the winkelhaken, i. e. t io) = ii, 
but by putting it before it=7o. 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 179 

case he could not replace it, inasmuch as it contained 
the seal impressions of the debtor. 

The envelopes of contracts, as stated above, were 
usually inscribed, with some variations, the same as 
the tablet itself. This made it possible to consult 
the terms of the document without disturbing the 
tablet proper. If a charge that alterations of the 
inscription on the case were made, it was, of 
course, an easy matter to have the tablet proper 
examined, if need be, in the presence of the judge, 
when the terms of the contract could be verified. 
In short, it is impossible to conceive of a better 
sealed contract than a clay tablet with an envelope, 
which contains the seal impressions of the witnesses, 
scribe, and contracting parties. 

In the Temple Archives of the Cassite period, a 
familiar phrase is, " the debt he shall pay, whereupon 
the seal he shall break.' ' In other words, after 
the obligation had been met, the case containing 
the man's seal was broken off; but the inside tablet 
was preserved in the archives as a record of the 
transactions. 1 

Letters were frequently encased, especially in the 
Hammurabi period. On the envelope, the name of 
the individual for whom the letter was intended was 
written, e. g., Ana Warad-Bel, "To Warad-Bel." 



1 For a further discussion on Case Tablets by the writer, 
see Documents from the Temple Archives of Nippur. B. E. 
Vol. XIV, p. loff. 



180 Light on the Old Testament 

The sender then made seal impressions on all sides 
of the epistle. 

Some tablets are ruled. This could have been 
done in most cases by means of a cord, as has been 
suggested, but in the lists and contracts of certain 
periods the edge of the stylus was doubtless used 
to make these lines. They were easily produced 
by laying the stylus flatly upon the clay surface, 
using the edge or corner of the stylus to make the 
lines. In the early periods, the circle (see page 86) 
had the value one and the semi-elliptical impression, 
ten. In making the numerals, the scribe very likely 
used the upper end of the stylus, which was round. 
The circle was made by pressing the stylus per- 
pendicularly into the soft clay. In making the semi- 
elliptical impression the stylus was made to lean, 
as was done in writing the ordinary characters. 

Some tablets are less concave on the reverse, and 
comparatively flat on the obverse. This is due to 
the fact that the tablets are thicker in the center 
than at the edge. In writing the tablet, the scribe 
frequently laid it upon a table or stand. In writing 
the obverse, the tablet would settle, and the reverse 
would become flattened out. When the other side 
was written, the obverse would become more or 
less flat, in which condition it remained. Temple 
records, historical cylinders, and important in- 
scriptions of a mythological or religious character 
were, as a rule, baked. Contracts and documents 
of certain periods were also baked. Of the tablets 




X 



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u 


X 


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u 

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182 Light on the Old Testament 

found at Nippur, however, the unbaked outnumber 
the baked ten to one. This is an indication that most 
of the tablets did not see the kiln. 

The fact that scribes were so numerous implies 
that there were schools in which they had been 
trained. In 1892 an expedition, which had been 
sent out by the Turkish government to excavate at 
Sippara, located within the temple precincts a 
building in which were found many tablets contain- 
ing material that had formed the equipment of such 
a school. Among them are syllabaries or sign 
dictionaries, grammatical exercises, lists of names 
and the elements contained in them, mathematical 
tablets, such as lists of fractions, measures, weights, 
etc. In other words, the excavator found the re- 
mains of a school which was in direct connection 
with the famous temple of the Sun-god. Father 
Scheil has published a selection of these tablets 
in his Une Saison de Fouilles a Sip par (1903), 
in which volume also he gives a plan of the school 
and a full account of its arrangement and the 
pedagogical methods employed. 

Similar material has been discovered at other 
sites, notably at Nippur, where exercises of students 
and practise tablets have been found in considerable 
numbers. The accompanying plan, 1 which was 
made by Mr. C. S. Fisher, one of the architects of 
the last expedition sent out by the University of 

1 See Fisher, Excavations at Nippur, Part I. 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 183 

Pennsylvania, shows the remaining walls of buildings 
in a mound known as Tablet Hill. It lies south of 
Temple Hill. In the eastern and western sections 
of this great mound, far removed from each other, 



TABLET HILL (WSeclion.) 




s aaSffi^te. 



■ sJlJlfc 



TABLET HILL (E.Seciion.) 




Plan of buildings in Tablet Hill. 



series of rooms or buildings were uncovered at a 
depth of from twenty to twenty-four feet below the 
surface. They are of special interest in this connec- 
tion, as the antiquities found in them seem to indi- 



184 Light on the Old Testament 

cate that the buildings belong to the Hammurabi 
period. In three of the rooms in the eastern section, 
and in two of the rooms of the western, large quanti- 
ties of tablets and fragments of tablets were found. 
It yet remains to be determined whether the build- 
ings or rooms of the one section have anything to do 
with the other. Haynes cut a trench between the 
two Sections, but could not establish any connection 
between them. Unfortunately for the solution of 
this question, records of the provenience of most of 
the inscribed material were not kept. Also exactly 
what relation, if any, these tablets and the rooms 
in which they were found have to the temple proper, 
remains to be determined. Another problem in- 
volved is the relationship which the two or three 
rooms of the one section and the three of the other, 
in which tablets were found, bear to the entire com-t 
plex of more than sixty rooms and buildings which 
were uncovered. But with the knowledge we possess 
that the temple was the all-important institution of 
the city, and that in all probability all city offices 
came under its control, it is plausible to assume that 
these buildings, although at some distance from the 
sacred precinct, stood in close connection with that 
institution. Moreover, from the character of the 
tablets discovered it would seem that Haynes had 
found the remains of an equipment which had 
belonged to a school, in many respects similar to 
that found by Scheil at Sippara. Of special interest 
are a number of large cones, from six to ten inches 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 185 

high, quadrangular, pentagonal, and hexagonal in 
shape. Some of these have a hole running length- 




Reference cylinders from the Temple School of Nippur. 

wise through them, in all probability for the purpose 

of mounting them on revolving stands for reference. 

These generally seem to contain lexicographical 



186 Light on the Old Testament 

material. In fact, great quantities of fragments 
of tablets of the same character were found in 
these rooms, which give us a right to conjecture 
that they belong to the Library of the Temple 
School. Considering the importance of the Bel 
temple, we have reason to suppose that the col- 
lections in connection with that institution included 
practically all the Babylonian works in law, science, 
and literature. The latter was largely religious, and 
doubtless was made to conform to the Bel cult. 

In an upper stratum of this same mound in which 
the buildings above described were uncovered, al- 
though not necessarily at the same spot, many 
important tablets besides much lexicographical 
material, not contracts, were found during the exca- 
vations conducted by Doctor Peters in the first and 
second years. As it has been suggested, 1 it is not 
improbable that at the time of some great invasion 
the more ancient building or buildings were thrown 
into ruins; that they were later partially restored; 
and that the tablets found in the upper stratum of 
this mound belonged perhaps to the same building, 
but of a later period. The exact character of trjese, 
as well as their relation to the finds belonging to 
the earlier age, above described, if any, can only 
be determined after they have been translated. 
Suffice it to say, that the general appearance 
holds out the hope of their containing important 

1 Hilprecht, Explorations in Bible Lands, p. 516. 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 187 

material. Yes, it is not impossible that among these 
tablets and fragments will be found, when translated, 
copies of some of the literary productions that 
belonged to the ancient Bel cult, which for millen- 
niums had formed the ritual texts of the temple. 
From our knowledge of the Babylonian religion, 
gathered from the hundreds of texts which have 
been published by Scheil, Zimmern, King, Reisner, 
Boissier, Craig, and others, it is reasonably certain 
that each religious center had its collection of texts, 
such as hymns, incantations, omens, and ritual 
texts in general, which were used in connection 
with the cult, as well as all that the Babylonians 
knew about law and science. Further, it is reason- 
able also to assume that such texts formed part of 
the equipment used for instruction in their schools. 
All kinds of pupil exercises have been found, from 
tablets containing a repetition of single wedges, 
to exercises in multiplication and grammar, and in 
the copying of various kinds of lists. Some contain 
the repetition over and over of the same character. 
Others contain lists of various kinds, doubtless 
copies from sample tablets, or which were written 
after dictation. In many instances it is as easy 
to recognize these tablets as it would be to determine 
at the present time what a paper meant which con- 
tained the exercises of a schoolboy. It would seem 
from the quantities of this material, a great deal of 
which is clumsily made, that in some instances 
the excavators had struck the waste-heaps of the 



188 Light on the Old Testament 

school, or, as we might say, their waste-paper bas- 
kets. As a rule, exercise tablets of this character 
were probably broken up, and the material used 
again and again. 

At Nippur and elsewhere have been found a great 
many tablets about three inches in diameter, in- 
scribed on one side only, which is nearly flat, while 
the other side is rounded. They usually contain 
four lines of inscriptions written between five ruled 
lines. The second line and the fourth, as a rule, 
contain repetitions of the first and the second. 
Some are -carefully written as if a teacher had made 
them, to be copied by the scholar, while others 
are not so carefully made, indicating probably that 
they are exercise tablets. 

Besides these are found numerous tablets con- 
taining multiplication tables, many of which seem 
to have been carefully made by scribes, and doubtless, 
were used as texts for study ; while others may have 
been used for reference in business transactions. 
This may be inferred from the fact that they have 
been found at different parts of the city by the 
different expeditions sent out to Nippur. Some 
of these tablets contain the multiple of numbers as 
high as 1350. 1 The accompanying illustration is 
an 18 x 1 table. It was found on one of the earlier 
expeditions to Nippur. It reads : 18 a-dn 1 18 (i. e., 
18x1 = 18) ; a =du 2 36, (i. e.,x 2 = 36), etc., until 

1 See Hilprecht, Explorations in Bible Lands, p. 531. 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 189 

in the twentieth line: a-du 20 360, (i. e., x 20 == 
360). This is followed by: x 30 == 540; x 40 = 720; 
x 50 = 1080. It will be noticed that the result of 
the last calculation is a mistake. It is that of 
18 x 60 instead of 18 x 50. The text-book, or 
reference -table is therefore faulty. 1 



p^i^ 



> & :5^v ^W ' ... 



*m0*> 00t &h 



h~g3, ■ fc? 












OBVERSE REVERSE 

Mutiplication Table. i8x i = 18, etc. 

It is quite natural to suppose also that scribes 
possessed such productions, as hymns, incantations, 
and other kinds of literature, in their own collec- 

1 From Professor Hilprecht I learn that in his forthcoming 
work, Mathematical, Metrological and Chronological Tablets 
from the Temple Library, he will show that the Babylonians 
knew the binomial theorem, how to extract cube roots, and 
important equations in higher mathematics. 



190 Light on the Old Testament 

tions. Syllabaries, or lists of signs with their 
values, because of the great number in use, must 
also have' been in the possession of most scribes 
for reference. In our day there have been collected, 
by one scholar, 1 over twelve thousand different 
values for the known cuneiform signs and combi- 
nations of signs which had been used by the 
Babylonians and Sumerians; and another list, 2 
which is now being compiled from syllabaries and 
other sources, which have been brought to light 
since the first was made, will contain about ten 
thousand. These facts make it reasonable to sup- 
pose that scribes had their own lists for reference, 
especially as writing material cost them nothing. 
Further, it is reasonable to expect to find wherever 
scribes lived practically all the kinds of literature, 
except official documents, which are found in temple 
or school libraries. 

Pottery objects of various shapes and sizes have 
been found belonging to this and other periods. 
For the burning of pottery, small tripods or stilts 
were used, in order to prevent the objects from 
touching anything. Especially the glazed pottery 
shows the marks of these stilts, the same as all 
glazed ware of the present time. In the potteries 
of to-day, devices exactly similar are used. 

The excavations along the inner side of the city 
wall at Nippur revealed a great many rooms and 

1 Brunnow, Classified List of Cuneiform Signs. 

2 Meissner, Seltene Assyrische Ideogramme. 




<S) 



6 1 



tfl 



c 
e c 
- 0* 



s ° 

a >> 

a > 
73 "S 

J.S 

ttf) O 

C E 

T3 § 



-a 



T3 
O 



192 Light on the Old Testament 

booths which were used by merchants living in the 
third pre-Christian millennium. A large baking- 
furnace of this period was found, built against a 
wall which had been constructed by Ur-Engur, 2700 
B.C. 1 It was likely used for the purpose of burning 
pottery. The top of it was about thirteen feet by 




Babylonian Furnace of the time of Abraham. 

seven. Its height was nearly four feet. It consisted 
of a series of elliptical arches, beneath one end of 
which the fire was kindled. The names and smoke 
ascended between these arches, which were separated 

1 See Hilprecht, Exploration in Bible Lands, p. 489 f., and 
Fisher, Excavations at Nippur, Part I, PI. 3. 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 193 

by spaces. Tiles were placed upon the top of the 
vertical flues thus formed. They served the purpose 
of covering the chambers, thus forcing the smoke 
and flames to the rear of the furnace, where the flue 
was located. At the same time, these tiles formed 
the top of the stove. At the back of the oven, a 
flue was constructed the entire length of the stove, 
whence the smoke escaped. Stoves similar in type 
are used at the present time in the cities of that 
district. One writer is of the opinion that a room 
was built around the oven in which the pottery 
was arranged ; while another thinks that the pottery 
was placed beneath the arches, as is done in modern 
kilns, not unlike this archaic furnace of Abraham's 
time. 

Small terra-cotta statues of the gods have been 
found in large numbers, belonging to all periods of 
Babylonian history. At Nippur, these frequently 
represent Bel and his consort Beltis. Molds used 
in their manufacture have also been found, showing 
that they were extensively used by the people. 
These images served evidently the same purpose 
as the teraphim, familar to Old Testament students, 
which seem to have been household gods, or talis- 
mans. They were used by the people, doubtless, 
in a manner similar to the Penates of the Romans. 

A great many small clay objects, made in a 
naive manner, representing horses, goats, sheep, 
elephants, and other animals, have been found. 
Frequently the horses have riders. These evidently 

13 




>- 

3 
O. 
P. 



T3 
C 

3 



pa 

73 

C 



£Q 



T3 
O 
bo 



h 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 195 

were children's toys. At Nippur, no less than four 
baby rattles have been found. They are shaped like 
a chicken, doll, drum, and a head. There is a little 
stone in the hollow body of each, in order to make 
a noise when the object is shaken. The exact age 
of these, however, cannot be determined. 




Terra-cotta baby rattles from Nippur. 



The patriarch's home was in Ur, where he is 
supposed to have spent his early days. In former 
years Urfa, not far from Harran, was identified as 
the ancestral city of the patriarch, but it is now 
fifty years since Rawlinson identified the mounds 



196 Light on the Old Testament 

known as Mugayyar, in the southern part of the 
valley, as the home of Abraham. Ur is a very an- 
cient city. Lugal-zaggisi, Lugal-kigubnidudu, and his 
son Lugal-kisalsi (about 4000 B. C), known from 
Nippur inscriptions, call themselves kings of Ur. 
How much earlier the history of Ur will in time be 
known, remains to be seen. Following this period, 
many of the kings of Babylonia call themselves kings 
of Ur; in fact, two dynasties of Ur are recognized. 

The city is situated on the west bank of the 
Euphrates, about one-hundred and forty miles 
southeast of Babylon. The narrow strip of land 
between the Euphrates and the Arabian desert 
as far as the Persian Gulf, including the marshy 
land surrounding the outlet of the rivers, was called 
Kaldu, especially in the second and first millen- 
niums B. C. From the Greek XaXdaiot we get the 
word Chaldeans. The original pronunciation of 
the Babylonian Kaldu was likely Kashdu, from 
which the Hebrew Kashdim is derived. 1 The 
biblical Merodach-baladan of the time of Hezekiah, 
who established himself on the throne at Babylon, 
was a Chaldean. It is thought by some scholars 
that Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadrezzar, 
was also from that land. 

No extensive excavations have been conducted 
up to the present time at the group of mounds 
which represent the city, but through the explora- 

1 See Hommel, Ancient Hebrew Tradition, p. 2iof. 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 197 

tions of Taylor and Loftus, and inscriptions found 
elsewhere, considerable is known about the city. 
The principal temple of Ur was called E-gishshir-gal. 
Others are E-mu-ri-a-na-ba-ak and E-sku-gan-du-du, 
which, however, some think may be the same as 
the first mentioned. In returning from Nippur on 
his second campaign, Doctor Peters found a door- 



': 




The Temple of the moon-god Sin at Ur of the Chaldees. 

socket at Ur, lying on the surface. It is in diorite, 
and bears an inscription of Gimil-Sin, king of Ur. 
The inscription reads: 

To the god Nannar, the first born of Bel, his be- 
loved king Gimil-Sin, the beloved of Nannar, a king 
whom Bel had appointed in his heart to be shepherd 
of the world, and of the four corners of the earth, 
the mighty king, king of Ur, king of the four corners 
of the earth, E-mu-ri-a-na-ba-ak, his beloved house he 
has built. 



198 Light on the Old Testament 

The socket, because of its connection with Ur of 
the Chaldees, and the fact that it is so well preserved, 
is one of the treasures of the Archaeological Museum 
of the University of Pennsylvania. 




Door-socket of Gimil-Sin, found at Ur of the Chaldees. 

The results of the excavations of the Bel temple 
at Nippur (see page 114) enable us to picture in 
mind the temple of Ur when Abram lived there. 
The style of dress, as shown on the statues discovered 
at Telloh, of men and women (see page 163), is 
doubtless an indication of that which was worn by 
Abram and Sarah. In fact, every antiquity dis- 



Babylonia in Days of Abraham 199 

covered belonging to that period is illustrative 
of the life in the patriarch's home. 

When Abram lived in Ur, the city was under the 
suzerainty of Elam. About 2285 B. C, Kudur- 
Nankhundi with his hordes had invaded the land, 
and put most of the cities under his subjection. 
The lower part of the valley continued to be a 
dominion of Elam until the thirty-first year of 



Impression of a seal cylinder. Ur-Engur standing before the moon-god Sin. 

Amraphel, when that ruler was able to throw off 
the yoke, and conquer the country. 

From Ur, Abram with his father proceeded to 
Harran, which was about 560 miles to the north- 
west of the city. It is situated along the banks of 
the Belias, a tributary of the Euphrates. The name 
Harran, means " road " (harrdnu) in Assyrian, doubt- 
less having derived its name from being on the 



200 Light on the Old Testament 

high-road between Syria and the Mesopotamia 
valley. Harran was affiliated with Ur, in so far that 
the tutelary deities of both cities were the same. 
If Terah, whom we imagine was a devotee of the 
god Sin, from the passage in Joshua (24: 2), and be- 
cause his house had been in Ur, it is not at all im- 
probable that, feeling at home in Harran after leav- 
ing Ur, he refused to proceed further. This sugges- 
tion has been offered as a reason why Abram tarried 
with Terah in that city before he completed his 
journey to Canaan. 

In the past it has been customary to draw freely 
from what is known as the contract literature to 
portray the every-day life that pulsated in the 
streets of ancient Babylonian cities. The discovery 
of the Code of Hammurabi, however, gives us in a 
systematic form much important information con- 
cerning the family, state, and other subjects that 
enables us to get even a clearer idea than hereto- 
fore of life in the age of Abraham. 



VIII 
CODE OF HAMMURABI 

At the close of the year 1901 and the beginning 
of 1902, M. de Morgan, the French archeologist, 
who had been excavating for the past years, for his 
government, at the acropolis of Susa, (or "Shus- 
han the palace, " as it is referred to in the book of 
Esther), discovered the now famous Code of Ham- 
murabi. It is the longest cuneiform inscription 
known, and perhaps the most important monument 
of antiquity thus far discovered in the history of 
excavations. It was found in three large fragments, 
which were readily joined together. It is cut out 
of a block of diorite, and stands seven feet, four 
inches high. At the base it is about twenty- two 
inches wide, and at the top just above the bas- 
relief it is about sixteen inches. On the uppermost 
part of this enormous block of stone, Hammurabi 
had himself depicted in bas-relief, standing before 
the sun-god, Shamash, who is seated on a throne. 
The god wears a swathed head-gear, which is adorned 
with horns and a flounced garment. In his hand is 
a staff or scepter and a ring, emblematic perhaps 
of authority and eternity. Rays emanate from 
behind his shoulder. 

In reverent obedience, Hammurabi stands before 

201 



202 Light on the Old Testament 

the god with his right hand near his face, perhaps 
to emphasize the fact that he is listening. His left 
hand is resting against his body at the waist, an 
attitude quite similar to his position in a relief upon 
a brick in the British Museum. He wears upon his 
head a cap with fillet, well known from the early 
Sumerian heads of statues found at Telloh and 
Nippur (see page 159). He is clothed in a long 
tunic, which lies in folds; it is hemmed in at the 
waist. Like the gods, he wears what we know as the 
artificially-plaited Assyrian beard. 

Beneath the bas-relief are sixteen parallel columns 
running belt- wise, beneath which five additional 
lines had been erased, and the stone polished. On 
the reverse there are twenty-eight parallel columns, 
containing in all about four thousand lines of a 
closely- written cuneiform inscription. It is pos- 
sible that some king may have desired to alter 
certain laws; but more probable that the invader, 
who had carried away the stele, desired to inscribe 
upon it an account of its recovery from the Baby- 
lonians. 

It is quite probable that the stone discovered is 
one of many copies set up in different centers of 
Hammurabi's great empire. A fragment of another 
stele, containing a portion of the epilogue, was also 
found by de Morgan at Susa. The closing lines of 
the complete stele seem to show that it had been 
set up in Ebarra, the temple of Shamash, in Sippara. 
Another expression in the inscription seems to 




The Code of Hammurabi. 



204 Light on the Old Testament 

indicate that a similar stele stood near the statue 
of the god Marduk in his temple Esagila in Babylon. 
This, doubtless, was the original, as Babylon was 
the capital, and the others which were deposited 
in the different cities were copies. 

Several fragments of tablets, now in the British 
Museum, which had been written for Ashurbanipal 
(668-626 B. C), and which were called "The judg- 
ment of the righteousness which Hammurabi the 
great king set up, " indicate that his scribes had 
copied somewhere these laws. In Babylonia also 
a series was known by : Ntnu-ilum-sirum. " when the 
lofty Anu, " which are the opening words of the code. 
Fragments of these having been published by 
Professor Peiser before the discovery of the stele, 
Professor Delitzsch inferred the existence of the 
code, and even styled it the " Code of Hammurabi. " 
By the assistance of these copies, attempts have 
been made to restore some of the erased portions 
of the code. 

This stele was carried to Elam by some conqueror 
of Babylonia. In the vicinity of the place of dis- 
covery another stele, which recorded a victory by 
Naram-Sin, was found. A part of its inscription 
was also erased, and recut by Sutruk-Nankhundi 
(about 1200 B. C), who says that he secured this 
stele at Sippara, and dedicated it to his god Shu- 
shinak at Susa. De Morgan also found a large 
number of Babylonian boundary-stones belonging 
to the Cassite period. These facts point to an in- 



Code of Hammurabi 205 

vasion by the Elamites at the close of the Cassite 
dynasty, and make it probable that Sutruk- 
Nankhundi had also carried away the stele of 
Hammurabi. 

The inscription is divided into a prologue, code, 
and an epilogue. In the prologue, Hammurabi 
gives his titles, mentions the gods he worshiped, 
enumerates the cities over which he ruled, and in 
general magnifies himself by referring to the bene- 
ficent deeds which he conferred upon his people 
and country. Including the number of laws erased, 
which are estimated at about thirty-five, the code 
has about two hundred and eighty-two paragraphs 
of laws. 

Contrary to the conclusions arrived at by other 
scholars, Professor Lyon of Harvard has shown 
that Hammurabi has arranged his laws in a definite 
and logical system. He says: 1 "In the skilful 
arrangement of its material, the code has never 
been excelled, and it has probably never been ap- 
proached. " 

On some subjects but one law is given, while 
upon others as many as thirty. The following 
brief outline will afford an idea of the subject-matter 
treated: Witchcraft, witnesses, judges; concerning 
offenses involving the purity of justice, as tampering 
with witnesses, jury, or judge; crimes of various 



1 The Structure of the Hammurabi Code, Journal of the 
American Oriental Society, Vol. XXV, p. 254. 



206 Light on the Old Testament 

sorts, as theft, receiving stolen goods, kidnaping, 
fugitive slaves, burglary; duties of public officers 
in their administration; laws relating to landlords, 
tenants, creditors, debtors; canal and water rights, 
licenses, messengers, herdsmen, gardeners, slander, 
family relationship, marriage, divorce, desertion, 
breach of promise, adultery, unchastity, concubin- 
age; rights of women, purchase money of brides, 
inheritance, adoption, responsibility for all kinds 
of assaults; fees of surgeons, branding of slaves, 
fees and responsibilities of builders and boatmen, 
hiring of boats; agricultural life, the purchase and 
punishment of slaves who repudiate their master, etc. 

In the epilogue, Hammurabi recounts his noble 
deeds, and credits himself with faithfulness in ad- 
ministration and loyalty to the interest of the people. 
He charges that every ruler shall observe the laws 
and commandments after him. He pronounces a 
blessing upon those who will faithfully administer 
the laws; and in long-drawn-out curses, he calls 
upon the gods of Babylonia to destroy those who 
neglect and annul them, or who alter the inscription. 

There is no definite information as regards the 
origin of the code, but many things point to the fact 
that earlier collections of laws were utilized by the 
codifier. The legal phraseology employed, the exis- 
tence of the early Sumerian family laws, the fact 
that some of the same laws were quoted in the con- 
tract tablets of an earlier period, all point to the 
existence of a code or codes prior to Hammurabi. 



Code of Hammurabi 207 

The fact should be taken into consideration that 
the greatest confusion must have existed in Baby- 
lonia prior to the conquest of Hammurabi because 
of the many petty independent states. Also Elam, 
having dominated a portion of the land for a long 
period with Rim-Sin (Arioch), the king's son, sta- 
tioned at Larsa, must have influenced greatly the 
courts of justice and their decisions in that section 
of the country. The codification of laws under such 
conditions, or the promulgation of old but accepted 
judicial decisions, — sentences of judgment, as Ham- 
murabi himself regarded them, — was surely a task 
of no mean proportions. 

The study of the code reveals the same peculiar 
mixtures of laws suitable for different states of so- 
ciety as is found in the Old Testament. In short, 
the code doubtless amalgamated the diverse elements 
of the small states, which had been handed down 
by the former inhabitants of the valley, the Sumerian 
as well as the Semitic. In the establishment of his 
mighty empire, which held together for centuries, 
this unification of laws, dispensed in regular courts 
of justice, doubtless was one of the most important 
factors in overcoming the great confusion that 
must have existed. 

The code recognizes three grades in society. 
First, the amelu, which included the aristocrat, the 
gentleman, the free citizen, the professional man, 
the officer, the tradesman. Secondly, the mushkenu, 
who was, as the term implies, the poor man, or pleb, 



208 Light on the Old Testament 

the man of a lower rank; the freedman who had 
been a slave was also included. His temple offer- 
ings could be less. His fines were lower, but at the 
same time, in case of injury, the damages he re- 
ceived were also less than those of the gentry. 
Thirdly, the ardu, or the slave. There seem to have 
been a great many slaves in Babylonia at that time. 
Besides recognizing these three grades, the code 
legislated also for certain classes of men and women, 
professions, trades, and occupations. 

It has been the custom with most peoples in a 
large part of the ancient as well as the modern Ori- 
ent, including the Hebrews, to base a betrothal upon 
an agreement of the man or his parents to pay a 
sum of money to the father of the girl. In Baby- 
lonia this was called terfeatu, "bride money." This, 
together with the gift of the husband and her dowry, 
formed the marriage-portion which was given to 
the bride. It would hardly be right to call the money 
which was paid the price of the bride, as the trans- 
action was primarily for prudential purposes. It 
gave her protection against ill treatment and infi- 
delity on the part of her husband, as well as divorce. 
She perhaps could not get this protection in a bet- 
ter way. For while her husband may have made 
use of her money, if she returned to her father's 
house she took it with her, unless she was the offend- 
ing party. This made the position of woman 
higher than it would have been otherwise. If she 
died childless, her dowry was returned to her family. 



Code of Hammurabi 209 

If she had children, the marriage portion was di- 
vided among them. In case the father of the girl 
rejected her suitor, double the amount of his ter- 
jtatu was returned. If the suitor broke his engage- 
ment, the girl's father retained the terfeatu. If he 
had been slandered by a rival, the latter could not 
marry the woman. It seems that the betrothal 
took place when the parties were young; and the 
engagements were usually made by the parents. If 
the father died before all the sons were married, 
prior to the distribution of the estate, the terfeatu 
for those not having wives was first deducted. 

In the marriage contracts, which were necessary 
to make the marriage legal, it is not unusual to find 
conditions, — such as the bride being required to 
wait upon her mother-in-law, or even upon another 
wife; or certain conditions relative to the disposi- 
tion of property given by her father; or in case the 
man broke his agreement and took a second wife, 
that she could secure a divorce. 

Concubinage was indulged in, especially where 
the first wife was childless, and she had not given 
her husband a slave-maid, in order that he might 
have children. The concubine could not place 
herself on an equality with the wife, although she 
was a free woman, and lived in the same house. If 
she became insolent she could be reduced to slavery, 
but could not be sold if she had borne children. 
After the man's death, she had the usufruct of house 
and garden to raise her children. When they came 

14 



210 Light on the Old Testament 

into possession of their inheritance, she received a 
child's portion, after which she could again marry. 
If the man recognized the concubine's children as 
his own, at his death his estate was equally shared 
by the children of both, with preference, however, 
of choice to the wife's children. If he had not rec- 
ognized them as his own, they received nothing, 
but gained their freedom. 

The wife received, at her husband's death, her 
marriage portion and anything deeded to her by 
her husband during life. If he had not made her a 
gift, she received a son's share. At her death, what 
she possessed was divided among her children. 
After her husband's death, the children could not 
force her to leave her home; but, if she desired to 
marry again, she could take along her marriage- 
portion. At her death, this was shared by the 
children from both marriages. A widow with young 
children could only marry with the consent of the 
judge. An inventory was made of the former hus- 
band's property, which was then entrusted to the 
couple for the children. Not a utensil could be sold. 
The buyer of an article lost it, and the price paid 
for it. 

According to the Sumerian laws, which are fre- 
quently found quoted in the contracts of this age, a 
man could divorce his wife by paying her one half 
mina. These laws doubtless belonged to an earlier 
age. The code provided that if a man divorced a 
wife, whether a concubine or votary, if she had 



Code of Hammurabi 211 

borne him children, her marriage-portion was to 
be given to her, besides the necessaries of life, to 
bring up her children. After they were grown up, 
they were compelled to give the mother a son's 
share. She was then free to marry again. In case 
she had not borne children, she received back her 
dowry including the bride-price. In case there was 
no bride -price, she received one mina of silver if the 
man belonged to the gentry; but if a commoner, 
one-third of a mina. A woman who had lived prop- 
erly could divorce her husband who had been faith- 
less, in which case she returned to her father's 
house with her dowry. In the case of a worthless 
woman, the code provides for her divorce without 
any provision. The husband could marry again, 
and degrade her as a slave. If she had been un- 
faithful, she could be drowned. Disease offered 
no grounds for "divorce. The man, however, could 
marry a second wife, but was compelled to main- 
tain, in his home, his invalid wife as long as she 
lived. If she preferred to return to her father's 
house, her dowry was returned to her. 

The code legislated concerning desertion. If a 
man was taken captive in war, having provided for 
his wife's maintenance during his absence, and she 
entered another man's house, she was condemned 
to death as an adulteress. If he had not provided 
for her, and she had borne the other man children, 
on the return of her husband she was compelled to 
return to him, but the children remained with their 



212 Light on the Old Testament 

father. If the desertion was voluntary, and he had 
not provided for his wife, on his return he could not 
reclaim her. 

The father, while he had no control over the life 
and death of his child, could treat him as a 
chattel, and pledge for a debt. In four years the 
child became free. For disobedience, in the old 
Sumerian law, a father could brand a son and sell 
him as a slave; or, according to the code, his hands 
could be cut off. If the father desired to favor one 
of his children, this could only be done while he was 
living, and by contract. After the father's death, 
the law of inheritance fixed the child's share. To 
cut off a child from sonship, it was necessary to 
make charges of wrong-doing before a judge. Only 
after the second offense, and for a serious misde- 
meanor, could he be disinherited. If an adopted 
child of a votary or palace favorite repudiated his 
foster parents, his tongue should be cut out; and 
if he ran away, his eyes were to be put out, for his 
ingratitude. 

A number of the laws refer to the adoption of 
children. A great many adoption contracts belong- 
ing to this time are known. If a child that had been 
adopted discovered its parents, and desired to re- 
turn to them, this could be done, provided a handi- 
craft had not been taught, nor he had been con- 
sidered a son, or had not been adopted by one be- 
longing to the court. If a man desired to disinherit 
a foster-child, he could do so by paying it one- 



Code of Hammurabi 213 

third of a child's share. A great many contracts 
show that children were adopted by aged people, 
that they might care for them in their old age. 

A great many laws in the code bear upon slavery ; 
considered in connection with the many contracts 
and documents dealing with slaves, these give very 
satisfactory knowledge concerning this class of 
social beings. The slave was treated like a piece of 
property. He could be sold or pledged. If he re- 
ceived injury at the hands of another, compensation 
for the same was paid to the owner. For insolence 
he could be branded, or tattooed; but his master 
could not put him to death. If agreeable to his 
master, he could engage in business and acquire 
wealth. With this he could buy his freedom. He 
could marry, and live in a house of his own, by his 
master's consent. If he married a slave girl, the 
law permitted the owner to regard his children and 
property as his own. If he married a free woman, 
the master had no claim upon the children or prop- 
erty. At the slave's death, the property was di- 
vided between the wife and himself. Her children 
were free. A slave could become a concubine. At 
the death of her master, she gained her freedom. 
The law of adoption enabled him to adopt their 
children, when they could become his heirs. In 
case he had no other children, these would have 
first choice in the distribution of his property. As 
Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham, the Babylonian 
wife could give a slave girl to her husband for wife. 



214 Light on the Old Testament 

The woman, however, retained the right to punish 
her in case of insolence. If she had not borne chil- 
dren, she could sell her as a slave. If she had borne 
children, the wife could not send her away, but could 
put a slave mark upon her, and reckon her with the 
slaves. The story of Hagar was in strict accord 
with Babylonian custom, except the sending of her 
away. 

Provision was made also with reference to dis- 
ease when a slave was sold. In case the buyer detected 
any weakness or disease within a month after the 
purchase, the owner could be compelled to redeem 
the slave. In the case of a runaway slave, the cap- 
tor was compelled to return him to his master, when 
he received two shekels. The death penalty was the 
punishment for the captor who retained or har- 
bored the slave. A great many of the slaves were 
the captives of military expeditions, and, for a certain 
period, certain obligations were due the state on 
the part of those who received them. Freemen 
could also be enslaved to settle unsatisfied obliga- 
tions. 

The code makes us familiar with a class of vota- 
ries. They were, however, altogether different 
from the prostitutes dedicated to the goddess Ishtar 
at Erech. Some seem to have been women of means, 
and were highly respected. Their vow included 
virginity. They lived in a convent, or bride-cham- 
ber. On taking the vow, they usually received a 
dowry, as the bride of the god. It was possible for 



Code of Hammurabi 215 

them to leave the convent and marry, but they 
must remain virgins. If her husband insisted upon 
having children, she was required to give him a maid, 
in which case he could not take a concubine. If 
she refused, he could take one; but she could not 
rank on the same equality with the votary. In case 
the concubine bore children, and placed herself on 
an equality with the votary, the latter could brand 
her, and reckon her as a slave. If she had not borne 
children, she could be sold for insolence. If the vo- 
tary broke her vow, and bore children, she had no 
legal right to their possession. They could be 
adopted by others. 

Votaries seemed to have engaged in business 
relations with others. They were, however, not 
permitted, on pain of death by burning, to keep a 
beer shop or even enter one. At a father's death, the 
votary was entitled to one- third of a son's share. 
Her estate could be managed by her brothers, but 
in case dissatisfaction arose she could appoint a 
steward to look after her affairs. In the event of 
her death, her property reverted to her brothers. If 
the father had made a deed of gift, she could dis- 
pose of it as she desired. There was a class of vo- 
taries dedicated to the god Marduk, at Babylon, 
who enjoyed the privilege of disposing of their 
property at death as they saw fit. 

It seems the wine shops were usually kept by 
women, for whom the code had especial legislation. 
The measure for drink was to be the same as for 



216 Light on the Old Testament 

corn. In case she overcharged her customers, they 
could throw her into the water. If she did not in- 
form the authorities in case she overheard treasonable 
conspiracy in her shop, the penalty was death. 

For surgery and the practise of medicine, there 
was special legislation. If the physician cured a 
broken limb, or healed a diseased bowel, his fee 
from the gentry was fixed at five shekels ; from the 
commoner, three ; and from the master of the slave 
treated, two. As in later periods, magic and medi- 
cine were doubtless intimately connected with each 
other. Decoctions of various kinds were employed 
in connection with the repertory of incantations 
and exorcism. Whether the aid of one who pos- 
sessed priestly functions to conduct this part was 
necessary, is not known. 

In order to discourage the surgeon from making 
rash operations, and overcharging his patients, se- 
vere penalties were fixed in case of unsuccessful 
operations; and for successful ones the fees were 
regulated. For an operation upon the upper class, 
the surgeon received ten shekels; the lower class, 
five; and a slave, two. If the patient died, the 
surgeon's hands were cut off. In the case of a 
slave, he had to replace him with one of equal 
value. If the eye of a slave was lost, the owner 
received half the price of the slave. 

The veterinary surgeon was already recognized 
as being in a distinct class. If his operations were 
successful, his fee was one-sixth of a shekel. If the 



Code of Hammurabi 217 

animal died, he was compelled to pay one-sixth of 
the value. 

Similar legislation was enacted for builders. 
For a completed house, he was paid at the rate of 
two shekels per sar of house. The punishment for 
his bad workmanship, in case the house fell down, 
was the death penalty if the owner was killed. If 
a son of the owner was killed, one of his own sons 
was put to death. A slave had to be replaced by 
another, and the loss of goods he had to make good. 
Further, he was compelled to rebuild the house at 
his own expense. 

The boat-builder was paid at the rate of two 
shekels, per gur in the boat. His work was guaran- 
teed for one year. In case it did not prove trust- 
worthy, and the boat suffered injury, he was com- 
pelled to repair it, or replace it. If a man hired a 
boat, and it was lost or injured, he had to make good 
the loss. If the owner hired a boatman, his wages 
were fixed at six gur per year. If the boat suffered 
injury through his carelessness, he made good the 
loss. If the ship grounded, and he refloated it, he 
had to pay the owner one-half its price. If a boat 
was sunk at anchor by another, the owner made 
an affidavit regarding his loss, which was refunded 
by the one who had done the damage. 

The office of judge seems to have occupied a po- 
sition relatively the same as in these days. His 
pronounced decision, however, was to be irrevoca- 
ble. In case he altered it, he was to pay twelve- 



218 Light on the Old Testament 

fold the penalty of the judgment, and be publicly 
expelled from his seat. Thereafter he could not 
even sit with the judges at a trial. 

A defendant in a serious case was granted six 
months if necessary to produce his witnesses. Tam- 
pering with witnesses was penalized heavily. If 
the witnesses testified falsely, and the judgment 
involved the death penalty, he was killed. The oath 
figured prominently in the code, and in the con- 
tracts that have been deciphered. Considerable 
importance in this age was attached to it in the pur- 
gation of charges, and claims for injury. It seems 
to have been administered at particular places, e.g., 
at the Shasharu of Shamash in Sippara, or before 
the sculptured dragon on the door of the temple of 
Marduk at Babylon. The gods invoked in the oath 
were the patron deities of the city; at Sippara, for 
example, Shamash, Ai, and Marduk were invoked; 
at Nippur, Bel, Ninib, and Nusku. In many of the 
documents, the name of the king was invoked with 
the gods: It usually follows the names of the gods. 

The decision was generally drawn up by the scribe, 
who gave the names of the witnesses and the judge. 
These documents usually contain the seal impres- 
sions of some of the witnesses and the judge. If the 
decision in a criminal case was unfavorable to the 
prosecutor, and it involved the death penalty, he 
himself was killed. For a false accusation of slander, 
he was branded, and generally he was required to 
pay the penalty that would have been exacted from 



Code of Hammurabi 219 

the accused if he had been successful in gaining 
the suit. 

The death penalty seems to have been inflicted 
for a great many offenses ; at least the code requires 
it as the punishment. But whether the judges 
generally inflicted the extreme penalty, cannot be 
ascertained. Considering that the judges had legis- 
lative power, the code could not be regarded as 
much more severe than some codes of the Christian 
era. It was inflicted for witchcraft, bearing false 
witness in a capital trial, housebreaking, highway 
robbery, adultery, neglect of duties on the part of 
certain officers, criminal negligence on the part of a 
builder, permitting conspiracy in a beer shop, for 
theft at a fire, for desertion on the part of a woman, 
for kidnaping a child, and harboring a runaway 
slave. In many cases the kind of death is not stated ; 
but in others it is. Drowning is mentioned for a 
woman caught in adultery, unless her husband ap- 
peals to the king in her behalf; impalement for a 
woman who had her husband killed for the sake of 
another ; burning for incest with his mother or step- 
mother after the father's death. 

Corporal mutilation or punishment was freely in- 
dulged in. The lex talionis, eye for eye, tooth for 
tooth, the cutting off the hand for striking a father, 
or for unlawful surgery; the branding of the slave 
on the forehead of an individual for slandering 
a votary, are mentioned in the code. On the death 
of a child, the wet-nurse's breasts were cut off if 



220 Light on the Old Testament 

it was learned that she had suckled another child 
at the same time. For grossly assaulting a superior, 
scourging was the penalty. Sixty lashes with an 
ox-hide whip were publicly administered. If the 
offender was a slave, he had his ear cut off. For 
an assault upon an equal the penalty was one mina 
of silver; if upon a plebeian, one half -mina. If a 
man struck a free woman who was pregnant, result- 
ing in a miscarriage, he was compelled to pay ten 
shekels; if he assaulted a daughter of a plebeian, 
five shekels; and if a man's maid, two. If the 
woman died, and she was a free woman, his own 
daughter was killed; but if a plebeian, one half- 
mina of silver; and if a maid, one-third. If the 
slave brander removed the marks of a slave without 
the owner's consent, his hands were cut off. If a 
man had deceived the brander concerning the slave, 
he was put to death ; the brander, on swearing that 
he did not do it knowingly, was permitted to go free. 
A man could give his wife, son, daughter, or slave 
to work off a debt ; but in the fourth year, he or she 
could gain freedom. A creditor could sell a slave he 
held as a pledge, providing, if it was a female, that 
she had not borne children for her master ; in which 
case it devolved upon him to redeem her. If while 
in service a free-born hostage died from ill treat- 
ment, the creditor's son was put to death. If a man 
contracted a debt before marriage, the creditor 
could not take his wife for it. The same applied to 
the woman's debts before marriage. After their 



Code of Hammurabi 221 

marriage, together they were responsible for debts 
contracted. 

In the code the duties of those having the use of 
government lands is clearly defined. There are a 
great many laws relating to farming, the hire of 
laborers, oxen, cows, wagons, and the regulation of 
hire and wages, the grazing of flocks, the renting 
and cultivation of fields, and of damages through 
carelessness. 

The every-day life of the Babylonian in Abra- 
ham's day can be understood in no better way at 
the present time, than by a careful study of the 
Hammurabi Code, 1 as well as the legal documents of 
that period. 2 

To the biblical student the study of the code is 
especially interesting as it throws light upon cus- 
toms among the patriarchs, for example on Abraham 
seeking a wife for his son (Gen. 24:4), the posses- 
sion of Machpelah Cave being placed on a legal 

1 For the text, transliteration, translation in English, glossary 
and sign list of the Hammurabi Code, see Professor R. F. Har- 
per's excellent publication, The Code of Hammurabi. 

2 In his "Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and 
Letters," the Rev. C. H. W. John of Cambridge discusses at 
length the contracts and letters of this period which have been 
published by Strassmaier, Meissner, Pinches, King and others, as 
well as give a complete translation of the Code of Hammurabi. 
Recently two volumes by Drs. Frederick and Ranke on the 
Contract literature of this age appeared. The latter is in the 
series, Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, Vol. VI., Part 1. It will be followed by Part 2, by 
Dr. Arno Poeble. 



222 Light on the Old Testament 

basis (Gen. 23:14-20), or Rachel giving her hand- 
maid Bilhah to Jacob for wife (Gen. 30:1-4) as 
well as the story of Hagar (Gen. 16:1,2). 

An immense literature on the code has sprung 
into existence since its discovery. It was first 
translated and published by Father Scheil. Trans- 
lations by Doctors Winckler, Johns, Pinches, and 
R. F. Harper followed. As there remains much 
that is obscure in the code, for years to come it will 
form the basis of studies on the part of scholars. 



IX 
MOSES AND HAMMURABI 

^Sotne scholars have indulged in extravagant state- 
ments with reference to the possibility of a code of 
laws having been promulgated as early as Moses. 
Such questions will no longer be raised, but another, 
now uppermost in the minds of some scholars, is, 
whether the Mosaic code is dependent upon the 
Hammurabi. It seems reasonable to assume that 
the Israelitish Code is based on precedent, the same 
as the Babylonian, but exactly what indebtedness 
there is due to the Babylonian, if any, or to general 
Semitic law, will be a question long debated by 
investigators. Inasmuch, however, as Abraham's 
ancestral home was in Babylonia, and as Ham- 
murabi was suzerain over Amurru (which included 
Palestine) , it would be quite natural to suppose that 
the latter established his laws in that land as well 
as in Babylonia; in which case, later Palestinian 
laws would probably show such influence. But 
nothing is known at the present which proves that 
this was done. 

Laws in the two codes have been pointed out as 
being strictly parallel. Others treat of the same 
subjects, having penalties which are quite similar. 
Besides, the study of one code throws light upon 

223 



224 Light on the Old Testament 

the other. In consideration of these facts it is nat- 
ural and reasonable to suppose that Israel's code 
owes some indebtedness to the Babylonian. If such 
should eventually be proved to be true it would in 
no wise detract from the Israelitish code. But con- 
trary to what has been declared, this does not seem 
to be the case. The spirit underlying the Oriental 
lex talionis, which has existed in that region for 
millenniums, and prevails even at the present day, 
is in both codes. Also certain laws arising from 
common customs, peculiar to that entire district, 
might be pointed out. But beyond these the simi- 
larities can reasonably be explained as coincidences 
which are due to the existence of similar conditions. 
For the sake of comparison, some of those which are 
strikingly similar or are parallel in the Hammurabi 
and Mosaic laws follow: 

Law number 7 reads: "If a man has received, 
without witness or contract, from the son of another, 
or a servant of another, silver or gold, male or fe- 
male slaves, ox, sheep, or ass, or anything else, or 
has received [the same] in trust, that man shall be 
put to death for theft." This enactment refers to 
any one who buys or receives on deposit anything 
without a witness or a contract, regularly drawn 
up, who is liable to have his act regarded as a theft, 
punishable by death. The Mosaic law (Lev. 6: 2-7) 
legislates against similar offenses, but because the 
individual is guilty, he shall make restitution of 
that which he has fraudulently obtained. If he 



Moses and Hammurabi 225 

have sworn falsely, he shall even restore it in the 
principal, and shall add the fifth part thereto, be- 
sides making a trespass offering, when "it shall 
be forgiven him. " 

Law number 8 reads: "If a man has stolen ox, 
or sheep^or ass, or pig, or goat, if from a god (tem- 
ple), or a palace, he shall pay thirty f old. " The 
Mosaic law (Exod. 22:1) reads : " If a man shall steal 
an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall 
pay five oxen for an ox,' and four sheep for a sheep. " 
Theft, in the Hammurabi Code, is more severely 
dealt with than in the Mosaic. In many cases it is 
punishable by death. Inability to pay a severe 
penalty might also mean death. 

Law number 14 reads: "If a man has stolen a 
child of another, he shall be put to death." The 
Mosaic law is the same (Exod. 21:16). "He that 
stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in 
his hand, he shall surely be put to death. " 

Law number 21 reads : " If a man has broken into 
a house, he shall be killed before that breach, and 
they shall thrust him into it." Exodus 22:2-4 
reads: "If the thief be found breaking in, and be 
smitten so that he dieth, there shall be no blood- 
guiltiness for him. If the sun be risen upon him, 
there shall be bloodguiltiness for him; he shall 
make restitution: if he have nothing, then he shall 
be sold for his theft." The Mosaic law regards 
breaking into a house as an unpardonable sin. If 
in the act he escapes with his life, and he has not 




a 
o 

pq 



Moses and Hammurabi 227 

wherewith to make restitution, he shall be sold as 
a slave. 

Law number 57 requires a shepherd who has not 
made an agreement with the owner of a field to 
pasture his sheep on his crop, to pay to the owner 
of the field, after he has harvested his crop, over 
and above his crop, twenty gur of grain for each 
gan of land. The Mosaic law (Exod. 22:5) requires 
the shepherd who has unlawfully pastured his flock 
to make restitution out of the best of his own. 

Law number 117: "If a man owes a debt, and he 
has given his wife, his son, or his daughter [as hostage] 
for the money, or has bound them over to render 
service, for three years they shall serve in the house 
of the creditor; but in the fourth year he shall set 
them free. " The Mosaic code (Exod. 21:2) says : " If 
thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve : 
and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. " 
Also (Exod. 21:7): "If a man sell his daughter to 
be a bondwoman, she shall not go out as the 
men-servants do. " 

Law number 125 requires a man who has received 
something on deposit, which has been lost or stolen, 
to make good all that has been given to him. The 
owner of the house shall look after that which has 
been lost, and recover it from the thief. (See 
Exod. 22:7-9). The Mosaic law (Exod. 22:12) re- 
quires that in case an animal which has been placed 
in the care of a neighbor for safe-keeping is 
stolen, he shall make restitution. 



228 Light on the Old Testament 

Law number 129 enacts that those caught in adul- 
tery be bound and cast into the water. If the hus- 
band desired to save his wife, or the king his servant, 
he could do so. The Mosaic code (Lev. 20:10), 
reads: "And the man that committeth adultery 
with another man's wife, even he that committeth 
adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer 
and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." 

Law number 155 enacts that a man who has been 
caught in adultery with his daughter-in-law, shall 
be strangled, and cast into the water. Leviticus 
20:12 reads: "If a man lie with his daughter-in- 
law, both of them shall surely be put to death : they 
have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon 
them." 

Law number 157: "If a man, after his father's 
death, has lain in the bosom of his mother, they 
shall be burnt, both of them together. " The Mosaic 
provision (Lev. 20:11), reads: "And the man that 
lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his 
father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be 
put to death; their blood shall be upon them." 

Law number 195 : " If a son strike his father, they 
shall cut off his fingers." Exodus 21:15, reads: 
"And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, 
shall surely be put to death. " 

Law number 196 reads: "If a man has destroyed 
the eye of another, they shall destroy his eye. Law 
number 197 : "If one has broken the limb of another, 
they shall break his limb." Law number 200: 



Moses and Hammurabi 229 

" If a man has knocked out the tooth of a man who 
is his equal, they shall knock out his tooth. " This 
ancient system of the talio, as mentioned above, is 
paralleled in Exodus 21:24, 25; Leviticus 24:20; 
Deuteronomy 19:21; Matthew 5:38, etc. 

LawLjnumber 199: "If he knocked out the eye of 
a man's servant, or broke the leg of a man's servant, 
he shall pay one-half his value." The Mosaic code 
(Exod. 21 : 26, 27) requires that a man who destroyed 
the eye of his servant shall let him or her go free for 
the eye's sake. The same in the case of a tooth. 

Law number 206: "If a man has struck another 
in a quarrel, and wounded him, that man shall 
swear, ' I struck him without intent, ' and shall be 
responsible for the physician." Exodus 21:18,19 
reads: "And if men contend, and one smite the 
other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, 
but keep his bed; if he rise again, and walk abroad 
upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit : 
only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall 
cause him to be thoroughly healed. " Compare also 
Exodus 21:12, 13. 

Law number 209: "If a man has struck the 
daughter of a man, and has caused a miscarriage, 
he shall pay ten shekels for her miscarriage." Law 
number 210: "If that woman die, they shall kill 
his daughter." Exodus 21:22-25 reads: "And if 
men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, 
so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow; he 
shall be surely fined, according as the woman's 



1/ 



230 Light on the Old Testament 

husband shall lay upon him ; and he shall pay as the 
judges determine. But if any harm follow, then 
thou shalt give life for life." 

Law number 245 : " If a man has hired an ox, and 
has caused his death through carelessness, or abuse, 
he shall restore ox for ox, to the owner of the Ox. " 
The Mosaic law (Exod. 22:14, 15) provides: "And if 
a man borrow aught of his neighbor, and it be hurt, 
or die, the owner thereof not being with it, he shall 
surely make restitution. If the owner thereof be 
with it, he shall not make it good: if it be a hired 
thing, it came for its hire. " 

Law number 250: "If the bull has gone wild, 
and in his path has gored a man and caused his 
death, that case shall have no penalty." Exodus 
21: 28 reads: "And if an ox gore a man or a woman 
to death, the ox shall be surely stoned, and his 
flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox 
shall be quit. " 

Law number 251: "If a man's ox was wont to 
gore, and its habit as a gorer they made known to 
him, and he has not blunted its horns, or penned up 
the ox, and then the ox has gored the son of a man,' 
and has caused his death, the owner shall pay half 
a mina of silver." Law number 252: "If it be a 
slave that has been killed, he shall pay one-third of 
a mina of silver." Exodus 21:29 reads: "But if 
the ox was wont to gore in time past, and it hath 
been testified to its owner, and he hath not kept it in, 
but it hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall 



Moses and Hammurabi 231 

be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. " 
Exodus 21:32: "If the ox gore a man-servant or 
a maid-servant, there shall be given unto their 
master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be 
stoned." 

There_are other laws among the two hundred 
and eighty-two of the Babylonian code which are 
paralleled by laws of the Mosaic period, but these 
appear to be the most striking and noteworthy. 

Not a few scholars, in discussing the question of 
the dependence of the Israeli tic code upon the 
Babylonian, seem to think that the Hebrew code is 
indebted to the older. Some see similarity in the 
phraseology, besides in the thought embodied in the 
code. Others maintain that the origin of both is to 
be found in Arabia, either because they hold that 
the original home of the Semites is to be found in 
that land, or because of the influence of Jethro 
the Kenite father-in-law of Moses (see Exodus 
18:14-27) ; and the fact that it is probable that the 
kings of the Hammurabi dynasty were Arabian. . 

If the laws which have been pointed out as being 
similar are carefully considered from a common- 
sense point of view in connection with the entire 
code, the only conclusion that can be reached is 
that the similarity of those laws must be ascribed 
to similar conditions which would give rise to them no 
matter how far the one people was removed from 
the influence of the other, except as indicated 
before, those laws which were influenced by the 



232 Light on the Old Testament 

barbarous law of retaliation or Oriental law in 
general. To give a single illustration: when an 
African or a North American Indian owns a 
vicious animal and knows its habits, and does not 
restrain it from doing violence, the only penalty 
thought of is that he shall be accounted respon- 
sible for any damages done. Where slavery exists, 
or where one may become enslaved for a debt, 
similar laws may be expected. The same is true 
of the laws of chastity and of the family, or 
the relations of one member of a family to 
another. Such to a great extent are not confined 
to civilized peoples. Moreover, similar customs 
will give rise to similar laws, as human nature 
is the same everywhere. 

The phraseological and philological arguments 
that have been advanced seem to have less in them. 
Also, we have no evidence from the Old Testament 
that Jethro taught Moses a single precept. His ad- 
vice as regards the administering of law cannot be 
construed as such. That Arabia is the original 
seat of the Semites, or that it is the home of the 
kings of the first dynasty of Babylon, are theories 
held by some, for which there is no proof. In short, 
dependence upon the Babylonian code, or even a 
common origin for both, cannot be proved at the 
present, and from the light at hand it does not 
seem plausible. 

Between the Mosaic and the Hammurabi codes 
there is an exceedingly wide gulf. If for no other 



Moses and Hammurabi 233 

reason, the responsibility of the individual for his/ 
own deeds, whereby the son is not punished for his 
father's deeds, or the father for the son's, gives 
superiority to the Hebrew code. There are some 
humanitarian considerations in the Babylonian, as 
for instance the provisions for an invalid wife, or 
an enraged father who wishes to disinherit a son; 
but if the codes, even from this point of view, were 
compared, it will be found that the Mosaic is not 
wanting. 

The Hebrew also in almost every respect relig-t 
iously and ethically is far superior to the Baby- 
lonian. The gods are prominently mentioned in 
the prologue and epilogue of the latter, but play 
no role in the code itself. Pure and simple external I 
conformity to the law is all that is required. Inas- 
much as Hammurabi is known to have been relig- 
iously inclined, it may be unfair to judge the code 
from this point of view; as it deals with civil law, 
and he may have intentionally omitted the religious 
element. There is not, however, even a semblance 
of a law in the Babylonian against covetousness I 
and selfishness. 

The fundamental principle of the Israelitish com- 
mand: "Be ye holy, for I am holy," on the other 
hand has an inward emphasis which makes its 
impress upon all actions. "Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself," as well as purification and 
devotion to God, is the keynote of the Mosaic law. 
It was God's commandment that the Israelite was 



234 Light on the Old Testament 

required to obey. Cursed was he that fulfilled not 
the words of the law to do them. This especially 
was the spirit of the prophets. This is totally 
foreign to the Babylonian code. 



X 



THE NAME JAHWEH IN CUNEIFORM 
LITERATURE 

A question which has aroused considerable in- 
terest, by reason of its discussion in the Bibel 
und Babel literature, is whether it shall be acknowl- 
edged that certain scholars are right when they 
insist that the two names Ja-a'-ve-ilu and Ja-ve-ilu 
contain the name Jahweh, and that these names, 
which are nearly a thousand years older than cor- 
responding names in the Old Testament, attest 
the worship of a single god Jahu (meaning Jahweh) ; 
or as stated by another scholar: "both composita 
contain the name of the god Yaveh, Yahu. " Others 
are inclined to regard the view as " not improbable, " 
and further state that names meaning "Jahu is 
God," do not play such an important part in the 
question as one would like to assign to them; but, 
on the contrary, their early existence, even from 
the biblical point of view is expected. 

If this hypothesis obtained, a number of impor- 
tant problems would be solved, and we should be 
compelled to readjust our understanding of a num- 
ber of passages in the Old Testament. But while 
it has been made by noted scientists with the great- 

235 



236 Light on the Old Testament 

est assurance, it will not be out of place to weigh 
carefully their conclusions, especially as a general 
acceptance has not been accorded them. 

The two names that play the important r61e in 
the question are on tablets in the British Museum, 
belonging to the contract literature of the so-called 
Hammurabi dynasty. Professor Sayce, of Oxford, 
was the first to call attention to them. They are: 
Ja-w(p)i-ilu and Ja-a}i{^)-w{p)i-ilu. It should be 
said that there is considerable uncertainty as re- 
gards the character ah, or what is known as the 
"breathing" in the second name. However, grant- 
ing that it is read correctly and treating it in con- 
nection with the first name, it would probably be 
read: Ja'wi-ilu or Ja'pi-ilu. Besides the interpre- 
tation mentioned, namely, "Jahweh is God," vari- 
ous other interpretations have been offered, as for 
example: Ja}tpe-el y "God covers," or "God pro- 
tects;" Jahweh-el, "God exists," Jahve-ilu, "God 
gives," etc. 

The interpretation, "Jahweh is God, " means that 
the unabbreviated form of Jahweh is used in this 
name. In fact, there is not a single instance in the 
Hebrew literature, early or late, where the name 
of Jahweh is found in its full form, when compounded 
with other elements in personal names. Why should 
we not expect to find the same contracted form, 
namely, Jeho or Jo, when it is the first element, as 
is the case in every instance in the hundreds of 
names, of those preserved in the Old Testament 



Jahweh in Cuneiform Literature 237 

which contain the divine elements? In Assyrian, 
the scribe wrote Jau, doubtless reproducing what 
he heard; for example, he wrote Ja-u-fea-zi, for 
Joahaz or Ahaz. In Neo-Babylonia, the scribe in 
writing these names wrote Jdfiu, (or Jdho), which 
is a very close reproduction of the Hebrew (see 
below). If, then, in the Hebrew, the Assyrian, and 
the Neo- Babylonian literature, we always find the 
name of Jahweh in the contracted form when com- 
pounded with other elements, can much reliance be 
placed in the above understanding of this isolated 
name, which is very probably to be interpreted 
quite differently? A more reasonable disposition of 
the element is to regard it as a verbal form, and to 
consider the name in connection with the many other 
West Semitic names having a similar formation, 
which are found in the tablets of the same period, 
as, Jadaji-ilu, " God knows ;" Jarbi-ilu, " God heals," 
J aqar-ilu," God is precious ;" J afezar-ilu,' 'God helps," 
Jamlik-ilu, "God reigns," etc. Jawi-ilu or Ja r wi- 
ilu would mean: "God exists;" or "God lives," 
or " God has spoken. " Or, if the second of the two 
names is to be read Jajtpi-ilu, it could be translated, 
" God protects, " etc. 

The name Ia-u-um-ilu 1 is also offered to prove 
the existence of the name of Jahweh in the Baby- 

1 For the lay reader it might be mentioned that the name 
can be understood as standing for Iau-ilu, as the first element 
contains the mimmation that was characteristic of the early 
period. 



238 Light on the Old Testament 

Ionian literature of the early period; although it is 
regarded as of secondary importance by some of the 
writers, as they say it presupposes the fuller form, 
Ja'we-ilu. Inasmuch as the Assyrians reproduced 
the divine element in its contracted form as J an, 
and the name in question is similar in form to Joel, 
which many scholars interpret as having the same 
meaning, it is really of greater importance than the 
so-called "fuller form. " It should be said here that 
while the later Hebrew perhaps considered this 
the proper interpretation of the name Joel, some of 
the best authorities think that its original signifi- 
cance was otherwise. 

Without taking into consideration the many 
theories concerning the origin of the divine name 
which have been propounded, the introduction of 
Jahweh as the divine name for Israel, according to 
the Old Testament, was in the time of Moses. In 
this discussion we are concerned only with those 
occurrences in extra-biblical literature that would 
seem to imply the existence of the name in the time 
prior to Moses. Eliminating the two so-called 
"fuller forms," the only name 1 that can possibly 
have the abbreviated form of Jahweh as an element 
is the one in question (namely, Ia-u-um-ilu), and 

1 The reading of the name Jama-arakh, cited in The Ex- 
pository Times, Vol. XV., 1904 p. 560, can scarcely be taken 
into consideration, owing to its being so poorly preserved. 
Dr. Ranke, Personal Names p. 113 reads: Ja-ma (?)-e (f)-ra-akh 
"Jama (?) is the moon (?)" 



Jahweh in Cuneiform Literature 239 

the only name of the Old Testament is Moses' mother, 
Jochebed. 

It must be conceded that the single name lauim)- 
ilu, i.e., "Iau is god," is difficult to explain if it is 
not conceded that the name Jahweh existed as 
early as the Hammurabi period. As mentioned 
above, it is exactly the form in which the abbrevi- 
ated element of Hebrew names appears in the cunei- 
form inscription. Similar names, even though it 
can be proved that Joel is to be explained other- 
wise, and that there is no other name parallel in 
meaning in the Hebrew literature, were common 
in that age, for example: Bel-ilu, "Bel is god," 
Marduk-ilu, " Marduk is god, " Shamash-ilu, " Sham- 
ash is god," etc. 

In this connection I desire to call attention to sev- 
eral names which I recently found on tablets from 
Nippur belonging to the second or third century 
after Moses. They are 1 Ja-u-ba-ni, Ja-u-a, Ja-a-u, 
Ja-ai-u, and the feminine name Ja-a-u-tum. Jau- 
bani means "Jau is creator," and taken in consid- 
eration with many similar names, which are com- 
pounded with bani, as Ilu-bani, Shamash-bani Jau 
must be regarded as a god. As was mentioned 
above, in the later period, the name of Jahweh as 
the first element of Hebrew names in the Assyrian 
inscriptions is written exactly the same, namely 



*See Documents from the Temple Archives of Nippur, 
B.E. Vol. XV. 



240 Light on the Old Testament 

Jan. Further, it will be noticed that Ja-u-a is ex- 
actly the writing of the biblical name Jehu, which 
is found upon the black obelisk of Shalmaneser (see 
page 320 f). 

Names compounded with the contracted form of 
the tetragrammaton grew in popularity in the later 
centuries of Hebrew history. The number of those 
with El decreased, while those with Jahweh steadily 
increased, until the latest period of the Old Testa- 
ment literature. The kings of Israel and Judah 
having come into contact with Assyrian and Baby- 
lonian rulers, we should naturally expect to find 
among the archives of the latter reference to the 
former, some of which had names compounded 
with Jahweh. As Israel and Judah were carried 
into captivity, we should also naturally expect to 
find in the land of their servility some reference to 
the people themselves in the business affairs of the 
people. In what is known as the contract literature 
of Assyria and Neo-Baby Ionia, Hebrew names are 
frequently met, especially in the periods corre- 
sponding to the times when the Hebrews were held 
in bondage, and afterwards. The latter fact is due 
to many having remained for generations in those 
lands. It is singular, however, that the number 
of Hebrew names compounded with Jahweh, in the 
known Assyrian literature, is exceedingly small. 
They are confined, with one or two exceptions, to a 
few names of kings. This may be due to the fact 
that excavations have not as yet been conducted 



Jahweh in Cuneiform Literature 241 

in those parts which were populated especially by 
the Hebrews; or because names compounded with 
Jahweh were not as popular in the northern as in 
the southern kingdom. In the Neo-Babylonian con- 
tract literature, especially in the period of Nehe- 
miah and Ezra, Hebrew names abound in the tablets 
discovered at Nippur (see last chapter). At the 
present we are concerned especially with the form 
in which names compounded with Jahweh appear. 

In Assyria, as stated before, when it is the first 
element, it is written J an, e.g., Ja-u-Jta-zi (Joahaz or 
Ahaz) Ja-u-bi--di; and when it is the final element 
it is written Jau or Jdu, e.g , Ha-zi-qi-Ja-u, 1 Ha-za- 
qi-Ja-a-u Ha-za-qi-a-u (Hezekiah) ; Iz-ri-Ja-u, Az- 
ri-Ja-a-u, Az-ri-a-u (Azariah) ; Na-ad-bi-Ja-a-w, and 
to this brief list must be added the name found 
two years ago on a tablet discovered in Palestine at 
Gezer, namely, Na-tan-Ja-u (Nethaniah). 

Many interesting Hebrew names have been found 
in the contract literature of the Neo-Babylonian 
period, belonging especially to the time after the 
children of Judah had been carried into captivity. 
In studying the Murashu business documents, 
dated about the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (see 
Chap. XV), the writer had the delightful experience 
of recognizing the first known Hebrew names in the 
Babylonian literature, with Jahweh as the first ele- 
ment. The element is here written Jdhu; for example, 

1 These names we usually transliterate Ha-zi-qi-ia-u. 

16 



242 Light on the Old Testament 

Ja-feu-u-na-ta-nu (Jonathan) , Ja-a-feu-u-la-ki-im, 
Ja-a-JtrU-lu-nu. The u, as the writer has pointed out 
elsewhere, 1 is to be read o, there being no other way 
to represent that vowel in the cuneiform script. 

Hebrew names in the Neo-Babylonian literature 
with Jahweh as the final element are numerous, 
especially in the Murashu archives. It is written 
Ja-a-ma, which would be equivalent in pronuncia- 
tion to Jawa in Hebrew. This was recognized 
some years ago as the divine element by Doctors 
Sayce, Pinches, Hommel, and others. As the iden- 
tification was questioned by a few scholars, in pub- 
lishing many additional examples of names from 
the Murashu texts the writer set forth his views, 
being convinced of the correctness of the theory. 
This elicited opposition; and a theory which was 
published some years ago when only a few exam- 
ples of names ending in Jama were known, was re- 
vived. It was claimed 2 that "iama at the end of 
West-Semitic names like Ajti-ia-a-ma, is nothing 
but the Hebrew jam, which in all probability is a 
1 Weiterbildung ' of jah or ja' by adding an emphatic 
m or ma. For, compare Hebrew Abijjam (Kings) 
alongside of Abijjah (Chronicles), a name borne by 
the same person. " When this theory was originally 
propounded, 3 some ten years ago, other examples 

1 Business Documents of the Murashu Sons, Bab. Exp. 
U. of Pa. Vol. X, p. 19. 

2 Hilprecht, Editorial Preface, ibidem, p. xv. 
Jastrow, Journal of Biblical Literature, p. 114 ff. 



Jahweh in Cuneiform Literature 243 

were offered to substantiate it, but these have been 
wisely omitted. It might be added that the author 
has since abandoned it, owing to the large number 
of examples found in the Murashu texts, but as it 
has been revived by the other scholar to combat the 
writer's position, and especially as Abijjam is the 
only example in the Hebrew literature which can be 
quoted to illustrate the theory , the following is offered. 
Theophorous names in Hebrew are usually com- 
pounded with either El or Jahweh. The formations 
commonly found are: deity + verb or substantive, 
e.g., El-nathan (Elnathan) Jdho-nathan (Jonathan); 
or, verb or substantive + deity, e.g., Nathan-El 
(Nathaniel) or Nathan- Jahu (Nathaniah). Among 
the Hebrew personal names found on the cuneiform 
tablets of the late period, both formations com- 
pounded with El are well represented. Of the for- 
mations with Jahweh, those having the deity as the 
first element, as mentioned above, are also recognized, 
as, for example, Ja^il-natanu. If, therefore, three 
of the four theophorous formations are represented 
by many examples, why should we not expect to 
find the other very common Hebrew formation also 
represented? I say common or popular formation 
because Hebrew persons, bearing names compounded 
with Jahweh, and mentioned only in the Book of 
Chronicles according to Gray 1 number, when it is 
the first element, twenty-seven; but when it is the 

1 Hebrew Proper Names, p. 162. 



244 Light on the Old Testament 

final element, one hundred and seventy ; while those 
compounded with El as the first and final element 
together number fifty. 

The names having the element Jama which I 
have been able to gather from the Murashu and 
other published texts of the Neo - Babylonian 
period follow: 

A-bi-Ja-a-ma Abaiah 

Akhi-Ja-a-ma 1 Ahijah 

A-qa-bi- J a-a-ma Akabiah 

Az-zi- J a-a-ma ". Azziah 

Ba-U- J a-a-ma Bealiah 

Ba-na- J 'a-a-ma Benaiah 

Ba-rik-ki- J a-a-ma Bereikiah 

Ga-da-al- J a-a-ma Gedaliah 

Ga-mar- J a-a-ma Gemariah 

Kha-na-nu- J a-a-ma Hananiah 

Khu-ul- J a-a-ma Huliah 

J a-a-da-akh- J a-a-ma Jedaiah 

Ja-she-'-Ja-a-ma Jeshaiah or Isaiah 

Ig-da-al-Ja-a-ma Igdaliah 

I sh-ri-bi-J a-a-ma Compare Sherebiah 

Ma-tan-ni- J a-a-ma Mattaniah 

Ma-la-ki- J a-a-ma Malchiah 

Na-ta-nu- J a-a-ma Nethaniah 

Ni-ri- J a-a-ma Neriah 

Pa-da-a- J a-a-ma Pedaiah 

Pi-il-lu- J a-a-ma Pelaiah 

Ti-ri- J 'a-a-ma Tiria 

Tu-ub- J 'a-a-ma Tobiyah 

Shu-bu-nu- J a-a-ma Shebaniah 

Za-bad- J a-a-ma Zabadiah 

1 Compare also the interesting name Akhi-Ja-mi, from a 
letter found at Ta'annek which has been recently published 
by Hronzy, Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie, Band L. 






Jahweh in Cuneiform Literature 245 

The examples show that no less than twenty-five 
names are found which have as the first element a 
word that has its exact equivalent or parallel in 
the Bible, which is followed by Jama or Jdwa. 
Moreover, all occur in the Old Testament in connec- 
tion with Hebrew persons or families. 1 Exact paral- 
lels for twenty-three of the twenty-five names are 
found in Hebrew, if Jama (== Jdwa) is regarded as 
equivalent to the abbreviated form of Jahweh of the 
Hebrew text. The remaining two, Aqabi-Jdma 
and Ishriba-Jdma, are not found in the Old Testa- 
ment, but the former Aqabiah is found in Talmudic 
literature, and the latter is found in the Old Testa- 
ment, in the present instead of the imperfect, viz., 
Sherebiah (Neh. 8:7). If, therefore, the names hav- 
ing Jama (= Jdwa) , all of which are West Semitic, 
do not represent Hebrew names, having the apoco- 
pated form of Jahweh, then there are no Hebrew 
names, except perhaps the questionable variant 
Abijjam of Abijjah, with which to compare these 
twenty-five ; every one of which has a biblical word 
as the first element. And on the other hand, if they 
cannot be so regarded, then three of the four com- 
mon Hebrew theophorous formations are frequently 
found in the cuneiform literature of this period ; but 
we look in vain for the fourth, whose frequency of 
occurrence, in Chronicles alone, in comparison with 
other formations, is nearly seven to one. Jdma. } 

1 Gray, Hebrew Proper Names, p. 158. 



246 Light on the Old Testament 

therefore, unquestionably represents the Hebrew 
form of the divine name Jahweh at the end of per- 
sonal names in the cuneiform inscriptions. 

In the Hebrew, the element appears at the begin- 
ning Jdho, or shortened into Jo; and at the end 
Jdhu, or shortened into J ah. The Assyrian scribe, 
as already referred to, wrote Jau when the divine 
element was the first as well as the second. The 
Babylonian wrote : Jdfeu (= Jafed) as the first ele- 
ment, and Jama (= Jawa) as the final. Can the 
Assyrian and Babylonian be reconciled with the 
Hebrew, and do these writings throw any light upon 
the actual pronunciation of the names? The Baby- 
lonian Jafed can be regarded as a satisfactory repro- 
duction of Jdho. The Assyrian Jau can also be 
read Jao, because in their orthography they did not 
distinguish between the u and o vowels. There is 
no philological difficulty in regarding the Assyrian 
equivalent to the Hebrew Jdho because of the syn- 
copation of the Hebrew letter He, which is in accord- 
ance with a common phonetic law. The abbreviated 
form Jo, and the transliteration of the Septuagint 
which makes it the same, viz., '/% would indicate 
that h was scarcely heard. 

The final element is not so easily disposed of. The 
Assyrian Jau may be a satisfactory reproduction 
of Jdhu, but what shall be done with the Babylonian 
Jawa. The form Jdhu in Hebrew must be explained 
as coming from Jahw, which according to phonetic 
laws passes regularly into Jdhu. The Massorites 



Jahweh in Cuneiform Literature 247 

vocalized the characters and read John. The u of 
the Assyrian J an may have been sounded like the 
semi- vowel w; to cite a single example, compare the 
Hebrew writing of Nineveh i.e. Ninewe with Ninua 
of the cuneiform inscriptions; in which case the 
Babylonian J aw {a) (written Jama) would be equiva- 
lent. This would require the assumption that the 
final vowel in the Hebrew was apocopated, and 
the form remained unaltered, e.g., Jahw. If this 
were true, the final vowel of Jaw {a) in Baby- 
lonian was not pronounced which is well known to 
have been frequently the case. If this explanation 
is correct, then the name Afei-Ja-mi, found on the 
Ta'annek tablet, which is mentioned on page 244, 
is especially interesting. 

The writing Jdwa is strikingly similar to the tradi- 
tional pronunciation of the Samaritans as preserved 
by Theodoret, i.e. 'Iafte or 'Iaftou, for the divine 
name, as well as Yahwa or Yahwe, written in Arabic 
characters in a letter to de Sacy, to which Professor 
Montgomery recently called attention. 1 This makes 
another explanation quite reasonable, namely, that 
Jdwa represents the exact and full pronunciation 
of the divine name as it was heard by the Baby- 
lonians. This has been previously suggested by 
others, but no attempt was made to explain why 
the full form was used and not the shortened. The 
theory I suggest is that the Babylonian scribe, rec- 

1 Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. XXV., 1906, p. 50. 



248 Light on the Old Testament 

ognizing the element as being the Hebrew God 
Jahweh, arbitrarily decided to write it, when it 
was final in these West-Semitic names, always in 
accordance with the way they heard the full name 
pronounced. The fact is, in the Murashu archives, 
names compounded with Jdwa occur more frequently 
than the Babylonian names that are compounded 
with some of their own prominent deities as: Addu, 
Bau, Ea, etc. The names of their gods are usually 
written with an ideogram. In their guilds or schools, 
the scribe was taught to write Babylonian names, 
not phonetically as they were pronounced in every- 
day life, but according to fixed rules.. The name of 
the Babylonian ruler, so often mentioned in the Old 
Testament, was not pronounced N a-bi-um-ku-du- 
ur-ri-u-su-ur, nor Nabu-kudurri-usur, as it was 
written; but something like Nebuchadrezzar. It 
was necessary for the scribe to learn to analyze all 
Babylonian names, according to their elements. 
It is, therefore, quite reasonable to suppose that the 
scribe learned in the schools to write this element 
Ja-a-ma (=Jdwa), not as he heard the name 
pronounced, as they ordinarily wrote foreign 
names, but in these names, having this well known 
ending, according to the rule the master of cunei- 
form orthography taught. It is a singular thing that 
the element in every case known to me in tablets 
from Babylonia, is written Ja-a-ma. Inasmuch as 
the Israelites had become so numerous that Jahweh 
occurred more frequently than some of their own 



Jahweh in Cuneiform Literature 249 

deities in personal names, the supposition seems 
at least plausible. 

Hebrew names with the divine element as initial, 
are more rare in the Babylonian literature, as they 
are in the Old Testament; for which reason a 
similar treatment would not be found necessarily 
expedient ; although the scribes did recognize ]b%d 
as a deity, because in some cases they used the 
determinative ilu, "god," before the element. 
Furthermore, the scribe of the late period repre- 
sented the Hebrew He by & which was not done 
in the names from Assyria. As mentioned before, 
the consonant was scarcely heard . Perhaps , however, 
we have also in Jdfed a writing adopted by the 
guild of scribes. 

An interesting example of a similar practice is 
to be found in the writing of the plural sign after 
the character for god in Hebrew names that are 
compounded with El, which are found in the con- 
tract literature also of this period. The Babylonian 
word for god is ilu. The Hebrew shortened form in 
names was El, although in its full form it is Elohim. 
The Babylonian scribe, having recognized the dif- 
ference between the pronunciation of the Hebrew 
El and their ilu, may have desired to represent it. 
The scribes doubtless knew that the Hebrew word 
for god, Elohim was plural. As Hebrew names com- 
pounded with El were also exceedingly numerous 
in this period, it is not unreasonable to suppose 
that in their schools, in their efforts to distinguish 



250 Light on the Old Testament 

between the Hebrew and Babylonian word for god, 
and also in order to avoid using the sign meaning 
ilu for the Hebrew El, as had formerly been done, 
they added the plural sign. 1 This combination 
carried with it the idea of plurality, which was so 
expressive of the Hebrew word for god. 

1 Professor Barton came to similar conclusions in his 
discussion of the Palestinian names written with ilu and the 
plural sign, which occur in the Amarna tablets. See American 
Oriental Society's Proceedings, April, 1892, p. CXCVI. 



XI 
THE AMARNA LETTERS 

No discovery in recent years has had a greater 
bearing upon questions of historical criticism, 
or has thrown so much welcome light upon Palestine, 
as the find of over three hundred inscribed clay 
tablets in Egypt. They were discovered in 1887, 
about one hundred and eighty miles south of Cairo, 
at a site known as Tel el-Amarna. It was at this 
place that Amenophis IV in the fifteenth century 
B. C. had established the capital of Egypt. In 
digging for marl one of the fellahin came upon a 
crumbling wooden chest which contained the tab- 
lets. Some were in a very fragmentary condition. 
In order to increase the income from their sale some 
of the larger tablets were broken into pieces, and 
this has naturally increased the difficulties of the 
decipherer. Most of the tablets have been secured 
for museums. About one hundred and eighty were 
acquired for the Berlin Museum, eighty for the 
British Museum, and sixty were retained at Boulac, 
in Egypt; while a few remain in the possession of 
private individuals. 

It was soon ascertained that these inscriptions 
represent the official archives of two kings of 

251 



252 Light on the Old Testament 

Egypt, Amenophis III, and Amenophis IV, who 
lived in the fifteenth century B. C. They contain 
letters and reports written to the kings of Egypt 
by their officials in Palestine, Phoenicia, and Syria, 
and by friendly rulers of Eastern nations. They 
were not written in the Egyptian tongue, as might 
have been supposed, but in the Babylonian language 1 
and in the difficult cuneiform script. They show 
that the Babylonian was the official language of 
diplomacy in Western Asia at that time ; and that 
this period was not prior to all knowledge of writing 
in Palestine; they offer evidence of an advanced 
literary activity, and also of a very fair civilization 
among the people of that country. 

Amenophis III (the Greek for Amen-hotep) began 
to rule at the age of sixteen. His throne name was 
Nibmare (Neb-rna't-Re), which means "Re (the 
sun god) is lord of truth, " but in the inscriptions he 
was addressed Nimmuria and Nibmuaria. The 
only campaign that he is known to have conducted 
was in the fifth year of his reign against the Ethi- 
opians. He erected temples at Karnak and Luxor, 
besides the famous Colossi of Memnon, on the 
west bank of the Nile, not far from Thebes. He 
married Gilukhepa, a sister of Dushratta, king of 
Mitanni; and also the Egyptian Teie, who was 
the mother of the son (Amenophis IV) that suc- 
ceeded him. 

1 A few are written in a foreign language, but in the Baby- 
lonian script. 



The Amarna Letters 253 

The throne name of Amenophis IV, who is known 
as the heretical king, was N efer-khepru-Re , which 
means, "Beautiful is the Being of Re." In these 
archives he is addressed as : Napkhuria, Napkhuru- 
ria, etc. He married Tadukhipa, princess of Mitanni, 
who was a niece of his father's wife, Gilukhepa. 
While in the Asiatic home of his wife he became 
infatuated with the worship of the sun. This he 
endeavored to have supersede the worship of the 
Egyptian gods. In consequence, he incurred the 
enmity of the priests of Amen in Thebes; and he 
finally found it desirable to set up his new worship 
elsewhere. The Court was therefore removed from 
Thebes to Tel el- Amarna, where the king built a 
new city. He changed his name from Amenhotep 
to Khu-en-Aten, " Spirit of Aten. " The new capital 
he named, Khut-Aten, " Horizon of Aten. " The 
names of his daughters were also compounded with 
Aten. In this exclusive worship of the sun, mono- 
theistic ideas seem to have prevailed. His religion, 
according to the inscriptions, was more expressive 
of devout feelings than the state religion. But 
his innovations did not last long, for after his death 
a reaction set in. His sepulcher was profaned, his 
mummy was torn to pieces, his city was destroyed, 
and his innovations were set aside. Those who 
continued to cling to his heresy were driven away 
or killed. Civil war followed. 

Two of the tablets discovered contain Babylonian 
mythological texts. On one the words are separated 



254 Light on the Old Testament 

with dots in black ink, and on the other with red. 
They were doubtless used as exercises in learning 
the cuneiform languages and script. One contains 
what is known as the Adapa legend, and the other 
refers to the consort of the god Nergal and her 
messenger Namtar. Several of the tablets have 
endorsements written upon them in ink, recording 
the time of their arrival, besides the name of the 
sender. 

A few of the letters are addressed to Amenophis 
III, but most of those discovered were addressed to 
Amenophis IV, who in changing his place of residence 
seems to have taken with him some of his father's 
archives. The letters show that these two Pharaohs 
enjoyed friendly relations with foreign rulers of 
Babylonia, Assyria, Mitanni and Alashia. The 
rulers of these nations seem to have regarded each 
other as equals. The following opening lines of a 
letter will illustrate how they addressed each other: 

To Napkhururia, king of Egypt, my brother: — Burna- 
Buriash, king of Karduniash, your brother. It is well 
with me. May it be very well with you, your wives, 
your house, your sons, your horses, and your chariots. 

Four of the letters were written by Kadashman- 
Bel I (formerly read Kalimma-Sin) , a Cassite ruler 
in Babylonia. Among the archives also is a large 
tablet written by Amenophis III to Kadashman- 
Bel, which is either a copy of one sent, or a tablet 
which had not been despatched. The correspond- 
ence between these rulers is largely taken up with 



The Amarna Letters 255 

references to domestic matters, and the interchange 
of presents. The Babylonian ruler was anxious to 
receive gold from Egypt, while the Egyptian had 
asked for the Asiatic king's daughter in marriage. 
The latter did not feel assured that his sister, whom 
his father sent, was alive and well treated. He 
complained also to Amenophis that he had upbraided 
his ambassadors, charging them with having said 
that another woman which he had sent was not 
beautiful. This the Egyptian denied having said. 
The latter, in another letter, repeats his request for 
the Babylonian king's daughter, which request 
was granted later on. Kadashman-Bel makes a 
similar entreaty, desiring to have the Pharaoh's 
daughter in marriage. The latter having refused, 
the Babylonian wrote: "If there is any beautiful 
woman there send her. Who shall say: 'She is 
not a king's daughter'?" The reluctance shown by 
Amenophis in giving his daughter in marriage to 
Kadashman-Bel was in accordance with his claims 
of divinity. Some of the Pharaohs of this dynasty 
married their own sisters, not considering that 
there were any others living their equals. These 
concubinal affairs are curiously mixed up with busi- 
ness matters. The Egyptians seemed to possess 
plenty of gold, as at this time the Nubian mines 
were being worked. In his letters, Kadashman- 
Bel made repeated requests for the precious metal 
in return for presents which he sent, or as a dowry. 
Six or more of the letters were written by the 



256 Light on the Old Testament 

Babylonian king Burna-Buriash II to Naphurria 
(Amenophis IV). Exchanging of presents and 
matrimonial affairs also make up a large portion of 
their correspondence. Among other things he com- 
plained of his caravans being plundered in the 
Egyptian king's land, Canaan (Kinakhi). 

They (the agents of Amenophis) have killed and 
appropriated their money. . . . Canaan is your 
land, and you are the king. I have been violently 
dealt with in your land. Make good the money they have 
stolen; and the people who have killed my servants, 
kill them and avenge their blood. 

As we shall later see, the conditions in Palestine 
were in a serious shape for the king of Egypt, who 
at this time held the suzerainty of that land. Burna- 
Buriash also requested the king of Egypt not to give 
encouragement to his own vassals, the Assyrians, 
who were endeavoring to gain independence from 
Babylonia, reminding him that on a previous oc- 
casion his father Kurigalzu, had not given ear to 
the Canaanites, who sought his aid when they re- 
belled against Egypt. 

Ashur-uballit, king of Assyria, is represented by 
one letter in the archives, which was written to 
Amenophis IV. The desire for the yellow metal 
seems also to have been the burden of his message. 

Dushratta, king of Mitanni, whose sister was 
married to Amenophis III, wrote five of the letters 
to his brother-in-law. He also asked for "much 
gold." He was willing to have it regarded as 



The Amarna Letters 257 

purchase money for his daughter, whom the Pharaoh 
wanted for his son's wife. After the death of 
Amenophis III, Dushratta addressed a letter to his 
widow and several to his son. In the one to the for- 
mer, he pleads that the pledges made by her husband 
be fulfilled. Many complaints against each other 
seem to have been made by the two potentates, and 
it is probable that later a rupture in their rela- 
tions took place. Mitanni at this time seems to 
have included the territory from Cappadocia into 
Assyria, including Nineveh. 

A number of letters are addressed to the king of 
Egypt by the king of Alashia, who fails to mention 
his name. They are largely of a business character. 
In exchange for his copper and building wood which 
he sent as presents, he requests silver, oil, and 
manufactured articles. Alashia is indentified with 
Cyprus, as that country is called in Egyptian Alas. 1 
This being true, the expression in one of the letters 
from that country referring to Nergal indicates some 
influence of the Babylonian religion in that land. 

Of special value, in the interest of the Old Testa- 
ment, are the letters from Phoenician and Canaanite 
vassals, princes, and governors. These comprise 
the bulk of letters. Through them we gain much 
data for the historical geography of Palestine, and 

1 See Jeremias, Das Alte Testament, im Lichte des alten 
Orients, p. 154 and, W. M. Miiller in Orientalistiche Litter aturzei- 
tung, Aug. 15, 1900, p. 288. Elishah of Genesis 10:4 is doubt- 
less also to be regarded as the name of that country. 

17 



258 Light on the Old Testament 

also much light upon the state of civilization at that 
early date. The situation as indicated by these 
tablets is in remarkable accord with the books of 
the Old Testament referring to this age. Moreover, 
for the first time we learn that the native princes and 
governors who wrote these letters were subject to 
Egypt. The conquests of Thothmes III had brought 
this region under Egyptian sway. But while 
Egyptian rule had been supreme, its authority was 
rapidly declining. From what follows it will be seen 
that the Egyptian king left the governors to their 
fate. Their repeated requests for reinforcements or 
assistance seem to have been totally disregarded. 
Aliens everywhere had disaffected the people. The 
Hittites were encroaching upon the land. Rebellion 
and uprising against Egypt had openly been made, 
and little seems to have been done to maintain the 
Pharaoh's authority. Each prince or king protested 
his loyalty and fidelity and submission. The neigh- 
boring ruler was accused of being the rebel. Accusa- 
tions against each other form a considerable part of 
this correspondence, as well as efforts to justify 
their actions. Back of it all was the desire of these 
rulers to throw off the Egyptian yoke. A number 
of them were in league with the Hittites and the 
Habiri (Habiri) people, who were encouraged to 
make inroads upon the land. We shall first consider 
briefly the letters that were written in Northern 
Palestine, then those that came from Southern 
Palestine. 



The Amarna Letters 259 

These letters are naturally addressed differently 
from those of the friendly powers. For example, 
Rib-Addi of Gubla (the Gebal of Psa. 83:7) in a 
verbose phraseology addresses the king thus: "To 
my lord, my sun. Rib-Addi your servant. At the 
feet of my lord, my sun, seven times and seven times 
I fall." In other letters the writer, in writing 
concerning himself, uses the words: "the dust of 
thy feet, " " the dust under the sandals of thy feet, " 
"the ground on which thou walkest, " "the groom 
of thy horse, " "thy dog. " Rib-Addi wrote no less 
than sixty of the letters to Amenophis IV, some of 
which in his appeals for success are most pathetic. 
The burden of his letters is the charge that native 
princes, who are supposed to be subjects of Egypt, 
are in league with the Hittites and the Suti and the 
Habiri. Rib-Addi criminates especially two vassals, 
Abdi-Ashirte and his son Aziru, for playing into 
the hands of the king's enemies. In fact, they 
have by the help of these allies captured many 
cities. 

Japakhi-Addi writes: 1 "Why do you neglect 
Simyra? For all the lands are fallen away to Aziru, 
from Gebal as far as Ugarit ; and Shigata is revolting 
and also Ami, " etc. Akizzi of Qatna asks for troops 
to protect Nukhashshi from Azira and the Hittites. 
He speaks of the king of the Hittites as being in the 
land, and that he endeavored to treat with him. 

1 Winckler, Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek V. No. 123. 



260 Light on the Old Testament 

Many other complaints are made against Aziruj 
as well as his father and other princes. 

Finally, Khanni, a messenger, was sent by the 
Egyptian king to look into affairs. Aziru heard of 
his coming, and went to Tunep where he remained 
until the messenger departed. Then he wrote 
protesting his loyalty, and expressed his great 
regrets at having missed seeing Khanni. An attack 
by the Hittites had called him away from the city. 

To all charges that have been made by the 
Pharaoh he had plausible answers. Concerning 
the city Simyra, that he is charged with having 
destroyed, he claims that that was necessary in 
order to prevent its falling into the hands of the 
enemies ; and the cities he was then occupying, was 
in order to defend them against the Hittites. 

A similar clamor for assistance came from faithful 
princes in Southern Palestine. In the North the 
enemies were designated as Egyptian vassals who 
had the assistance of the Hittites; a people called 
the Sagas (or Khabiri) as well as the Suti. In the 
South the enemy is referred to as the Habiri. They 
had the support of several native vassals of Egypt, 
among whom were Milkilu and the sons of Labaya. 

The chief opposition to the inroads of this people 
was made by a faithful vassal named Abdi-khiba, 
who wrote from the city called Urusalim, which is 
Jerusalem. Nine of his letters have been preserved, 
the burden of which is that the Habiri have the 
assistance of some of his vassals ; they are conquering 



The Amarna Letters 261 

the land. " The land of the king is going to ruin. If 
you do not listen to me all the dependent princes will 

be lost let my lord, the king, send 

troops. " " The king has no longer any territory, the 
Habiri have devastated all the king's territory." 
" If troops come in this year, the territory will remain 
my lord's, the king's, but if no troops come, the 
territory of my lord the king is lost." Again he 
writes: " Behold this action is the action of Milkilu 
and that of Labaya's son, who are delivering the 
king's lands to the Habiri." Another letter reads: 

To the king, my lord, speak as follows [namely| 
Abdi-khiba, your servant. At the feet of the king, my 
lord, seven times seven I fall. Behold the deed which 
Milkilu and Shuardatum have done against the land 
of the king, my lord, — they have engaged the soldiers 
of Gazri [Gezer] the soldiers of Gimti [Gath] and the 
soldiers of Kilti; they have taken the district of the 
holy city. The territory of the king is lost to the Habiri 
people, and now indeed the city of the territory of Jeru- 
salem, — its name is Bit-Nin-ib, a city of the king, is 
lost to the people of Kilti. Let the king listen to 
Abdi-khiba thy servant, and let him send troops, in order 
that I may bring back the land of the king to the king. 
For if there are no troops, the land of the king will be lost 
to the Habiri people This deed of Shuardata and 

Milkili and let the king 

care for his land. " 

The Hittites are not mentioned in the letters from 
Southern Palestine. The native princes seem to be 
in league with the Habiri. It would appear that 
Labaya had in this -part of the country formed a 
confederacy somewhat similar to the one in the 



262 Light on the Old Testament 

North. His chief opponent, Abdi-khiba, doubtless 
was silenced in some way. After the king's relations 
with him had been severed, he was captured, but on 
the way to Egypt he escaped; after which he con- 
tinued to tear asunder the Egyptian rule. 

In the reign of Amenophis III, the king's authority 
was generally unquestioned, although the letters 
from Babylonia to his son and successor show that 
Canaan had already become restless, and some of 
the princes were anxious to revolt. The Canaanite 
vassals, in the reign of his successor, realized that 
the government at home was exceedingly weak; 
this was largely due to the disaffected priesthood, 
because of the king's introduction of the new 
religion. They also realized that a rebellion was 
imminent, and did not hesitate to break away from 
Egyptian authority. Even those who preferred to 
remain loyal, certainly realized that the situation 
was hopeless, and in time went with the crowd. 
While little is known of what followed, it would 
seem that after the confusion the princes became 
entirely independent, except those who had allied 
themselves with the Hittite king. Such a dissolution 
of authority was easy, as Egypt apparently had 
made no attempt to establish its own form of 
government in that land. The impress made upon 
their culture was so slight that very little influence, 
up to the present, has been recognized. 

These letters afford a most welcome insight 
into the relations of the great nations, and especially 



The Amarna Letters 263 

into the affairs of Palestine in the second millen- 
nium before Christ. While the letters are written 
in Babylonian there is every indication that the 
language of Palestine at this time was Hebrew. 
There are interesting glosses in the tablets written in 
Hebrew. For instance after shadi, the word for 
mountain in Babylonian, its Hebrew equivalent 
karri is written; after fealqat, abada, " perish"; 
after ipira, apara, ''dust," and other glosses are 
inserted side by side with the Babylonian words. 
The scribe was either not sure that he used the right 
word, or being afraid the reader would not under- 
stand, inserted these glosses in the Canaanite 
language, or Hebrew, which in all probability was 
his native tongue. 

Of the one hundred and fifty cities mentioned in 
these letters, about one hundred have been identified. 
Besides the many towns mentioned in the letters 
which throw light upon Old Testament places and 
which enable us to reconstruct a new geography of 
Palestine for this period, an interesting fact was 
ascertained in the decipherment of the letters 
referring to the city Jerusalem. The common under- 
standing was that prior to the time of David the 
name of the city was Jebus, although Jerusalem is 
used for the early period in the Old Testament 
(Joshua 10:1, etc.). These letters show that Jeru- 
salem, which is mentioned by that name, was perhaps 
the older, being written Urusalim. In the period of 
the Judges the Jebusites having made it their 



264 Light on the Old Testament 

stronghold, gave it the name Jebus. The letters 
show that in that early period the city was a place 
of great importance among the cities of Southern 
Canaan. 

At this time Canaan, written Kinafeni and 
Kina}i}ii y represented the whole of Syria, including 
Palestine, east and west of the Jordan. The district 
mentioned in the farthest north was known as 
Narima or Nakhrima, which is the Naharaim of the 
Old Testament. 

Especially important has been the discussion with 
reference to the invaders who assisted the native 
princes in their efforts to overthrow the Egyptian 
rule. The Habiri, who are frequently mentioned as 
invading the South, are in all probability identical 
with the SA-GAS, who were invading the North. 
The latter term having the determinative prefixed 
which indicates a class of men, has the ideographic 
value feabbatu, "robber." In one letter SA-GA-AS 
is followed by feabati, which would then be in appo- 
sition. Labaya in southern Palestine, who is one of 
those charged by Abdi-khiba as being unfaithful 
to the king of Egypt by intriguing with the Habiri, 
evidently speaks of that people in a letter to the king, 
when he used the term SA-GAS. This must be 
regarded as strong evidence in proving that they are 
identical. 

The question is, Who are the Habiri people 
mentioned in these letters as entering Palestine? 
It was early suggested that thev were the Hebrews 



The Amarna Letters %65 

entering Western Canaan under Joshua. This view 
has been strongly opposed by some scholars, who 
have regarded it as an untenable assumption. Some 
admit that the identification of the word Habiri 
with Hebrew is quite possible, but that a more 
likely conjecture would be that the Habiri were 
the predecessors of the Israelites; their name being 
connected rather with a hypothetical Heber, refer- 
ring to Heber of the clan of Asher (Gen. 46:17). 
Others hold that neither the name nor the date are 
what we should expect, as the Hebrews were known 
to foreign people as the Israelites, and that at this 
time they were in Egypt. Another argument used 
was that Milkilu, a native prince in the South, 
played the leading part in opposition to the estab- 
lished authority, and not Joshua ; besides, the kings 
of Jerusalem, Gezer and Khasor, mentioned in the 
letters, are not the same as referred to in the Old 
Testament. Another is, that the Habiri cannot be 
said to be the Hebrews ; as both were in the same 
general stream of migration. Again others have 
suggested identification with the Habirai, that is, the 
Habiraeans, a generic term for the inhabitants of 
Elam, or with the Cassites. Others have said, the 
term means "confederate," "companion; " that 
it is a general term for an ally. A few scholars, 
however, continue to cling to the idea that the 
Habiri and the Hebrews are identical. 

From a philogical point of view the identification 
of Habiri, i.e. (Habiri) and c Ibri (the word, in the 



266 Light on the Old Testament 

original translated "Hebrew") is quite possible. The 
Hebrew character Ajin in Palestinian names 
written in cuneiform is usually reproduced by 
Kheth, e.g., Humri, Hazatu, are examples of 
names which begin with an Ajin in Hebrew. Ex- 
amples to illustrate the change from Abiri into 
Ibri are known. Compare those which have been 
cited by Professor Hommel, 1 e.g., maliku=milku; 
namiru=nimru. Then also the time of their entering 
Palestine synchronizes practically with the Hebrew 
chronology for the conquest under Joshua (see 
below). It would therefore seem reasonable that 
an identification of these invaders with the Hebrews 
after their tutelage in Egypt, was in the highest 
degree probable. 

The principal objection to the identification seems 
to be in what the opponents say is the " amazing 
discrepancy" between the approximate date of 
the letters and the date of the Exodus. Let us 
weigh carefully this argument, inasmuch as the 
conquest under Joshua, according to the Hebrew 
chronology, as just stated, nearly synchronizes with, 
or shortly followed, the invasion of Palestine by 
the Habiri. 

Since the discovery of Pithom, the treasure city 
built by the Hebrews, Rameses II has been generally 
regarded as the Pharaoh of the Oppression, and 
Merneptah II, his son and successor, as the Pharaoh 

1 The Ancient Hebrew Tradition, p. 230. 



The Armana Letters 267 

of the Exodus. In consequence, the Exodus instead 
of having taken place in the fifteenth century B. C, 
is brought down to the close of the thirteenth century. 
With exceedingly few exceptions, scholars and the 
general student accept this as practically settled. 
Rameses II is generally pronounced the Pharaoh 
of Oppression. The following are the only reasons 
offered, which are of any value, for this identification 
and change in the Hebrew chronology, and all else 
that it involves. 

Edouard Naville, in 1883, in his excavations at 
Tel el-Maskhutah ("mound of the statue") deter- 
mined that the ancient name of the place was 
Pit horn (Pi-Tum) "the abode of the god Turn." 
This is in all probability the city where the Israelites 
were forced to build storehouses for the Egyptians. 
Rectangular chambers of various sizes, with thick 
walls of crude bricks which had been laid up with a 
thin layer of mortar were found. A temple in the 
southwestern corner of the city was excavated, and 
the course of the heavily built city wall was traced. 
From a few inscriptions discovered, besides the 
statue of Rameses II sitting between two gods, 
which has given rise to the modern name of the 
place, Naville says, "the founder of the city, the 
king who gave to Pithom the extent and importance 
we recognize is certainly Rameses II. I did not find 
anything more ancient than his monument. It is 
possible that before his time there may have been 
here a shrine consecrated to the worship of Turn, 



268 Light on the Old Testament 

but it is he who built the enclosure and store- 
houses." 1 

After carefully reading Naville's accounts of 
his excavations, one cannot help being impressed 
with the fact that his conjectural conclusions are 
entirely too dogmatic on the basis of the work he 
accomplished. In the first place he says, "I exca- 
vated to the bottom of chamber i and 2 (see his 
accompanying map) ; but seeing that they had been 
intentionally filled up, it seemed useless to go on 
emptying them, so I confined the work to digging 
deep enough to trace the direction of the walls, 

without attempting to go to the bottom 

I laid bare the upper part of the walls of several of 
the storechambers, which I do not doubt extended 
over the greater part of the space surrounded by the 
enclosure." In other words he informs us that he 
excavated a few of these chambers, but only two of 
them to the original soil; yet we are led to believe 
from his accounts of the excavations that hundreds 
of these chambers existed at Pithom. The oldest 
construction, in the part of the city nearest to the 
canal has suffered, he informs us, to such an extent 
that it would be hopeless to trace any kind of plan. 
On the data gathered from these tentative soundings 
— certainly not a systematic excavation of the 
site — one might properly conclude, as he tells us, 
that Rameses II built the storehouses which he 



1 The Store City of Pithom, p. 13. 




Tr**£u*-rCi 



Naville's map of Pithom, the store-city. 



270 Light on the Old Testament 

examined, although he does not inform us that he 
found any stamped bricks of Rameses II in their 
construction. Granting also that this great ruler 
built the enclosure of the city, or at least part of it, 
including the temple; how can he speak in such a 
positive, unconditional way as to the founding of 
the city, and especially when the greater portion of 
the city remains untouched. Rameses II may be 
"the king who gave to Pithom the extent and im- 
portance we recognize, " but the portion of the city 
towards the canal, which he left untouched, and 
which he says represents the oldest part of the city, 
may yield inscriptions which will force us to different 
conclusions. Even Naville, from the examinations 
he made, must have had reasons for saying, "it is 
possible that before his time there may have been a 
shrine consecrated to the worship of Turn." 

It is a known fact that excavators find in almost 
every quarter in Egypt, however remote and 
obscure, that Rameses II has restored and built 
upon the work of his predecessors, even usurping 
their work and making it appear as his own. He 
is even charged with having credited himself with 
most of the achievements of the great Thothmes III 
in enumerating places he conquered from which 
it is practically certain he did not even receive 
tribute. About thirty miles from Pithom is the 
modern Tanis. The city is identified by some as the 
biblical Rameses, where Israel lived in servitude. 
It was called Pa-Ramessu Meriamun {i.e., the place 



The Amarna Letters 271 

of Rameses II). But while the city was built by 
Rameses, who is even called its "second founder" 
by Naville, it had been in existence for more than 
a thousand years prior to his time, having been 
built as early as Amenenhet I, of the twelfth dynasty. 
The early name of the place was Zoan (Numbers 
13:22), and if it is the Rameses where the Israelites 
lived, it was doubtless known by that name in later 
days; and, in the Old Testament, the name Rameses 
is used because when this account was written, that 
was the name with which the people were familiar. 
Such adaptations or glosses are numerous in the 
Old Testament. The same must be said of the 
passage in Genesis 47:11, where we are told that 
Joseph placed his father and brethren in the land of 
Rameses. In his day there scarcely was a place 
called Rameses, as the first Pharaoh by that name 
did not live until several centuries later. Naturally 
the city in question may not have been Zoan, but 
one of the others which have been pointed out as 
bearing the name of Rameses. From this it will be 
seen that the reasons why Rameses II should be 
considered the Pharaoh of the Oppression, are exceed- 
ingly precarious. While on the other hand there is 
a whole series of reasons why the old date of the 
conquest should remain practically unchanged. 
Thothmes III (1 503-1449) in every respect 
fulfils the requirements of the character of the 
oppressor portrayed in the Old Testament. He 
carried on fourteen campaigns in Syria, conquering 



272 



Light on the Old Testament 



all the kingdoms of Palestine, and brought the land 
under his suzerainty. On the pylons of Karnak, 
he has given a list of three hundred and fifty places 
in Palestine, Syria, and thereabouts, which he 




Thothmes III. 



conquered. One hundred and nineteen of these 
are within and about Canaan. As a builder, he has 
made himself famous. To his reign belongs also the 
familiar picture which graphically describes the 
taskmaster with a rod standing over the brick- 



The Amarna Letters 



273 



makers, the inscription of which states that the 
laborers are prisoners whom Thothmes III brought 
home for the work in his father's temple, Amen, in 
Thebes. 

In the succeeding reign of Amenophis II, some 
cities revolted, but they were speedily punished. 




iiiiii 




Brickmakers in Egypt. From a mural painting of a tomb. 



Thothmes IV ruled but a very short time. During 
the reign of Amenophis III, Canaan remained sub- 
missive with the exception perhaps of Aziru, who 
even as early as this ruler caused trouble, but one 
of the Amarna letters clearly indicates the restless- 
ness of the princes, and even their intrigues looking 

18 



274 Light on the Old Testament 

towards revolting. In the reign of the heretical 
Pharaoh we know from the letters that Egypt's 
control over Palestine was greatly relaxed, and that 
the recognized ruler made no effort to sustain his 
domination of the land (see p. 262), and to all 
appearances it was completely lost to Egypt. The 
remaining four or five rulers of this dynasty were 
exceedingly weak, and doubtless never entered 
Palestine. 

Nothing can be gathered from the records of 
Rameses I, and Sety I, to show that Canaan was any 
longer an Egyptian province. Besides extending his 
conquest in Northern Syria, Sety I conquered Pahil, 
which is eighteen miles south of the Sea of Gallilee, 
and also Bath-Shar, which is supposed to have been 
four miles north of Hebron. Pa-Kan'ana is also 
mentioned, which may be a little south of Hebron. 
The annals of Rameses II inform us of his many 
conflicts with the Hittites in the early part of his 
reign ; and although he marched frequently through 
Palestine, and may have attempted to break up the 
confederacy, he seems only to have conquered here 
and there a town: Ashkelon, Shalam, Merom, and 
Dapur, which is supposed to be Tabor. In other 
words these cities, if all are rightly regarded as being 
in Palestine, could have been conquered by the 
Egyptians, and the Israelites, if in the land, would 
not have been molested, for in the Old Testament 
we do not learn that they had anything to do with 
these places. There is nothing in the annals of 



The Amarna Letters 275 

Rameses I, Sety I, and Rameses II to show that 
Israel was not in Canaan during these reigns. But 
on the other hand, in the reign of Sety I and Rameses 
II, according to Professor W. Max Muller, the tribe 
of Asher (written 'A-sa-ru) is already located in 
western Gallilee. Efforts naturally are made to 
explain away the importance of this fact by making 
conjectures similar to those made in connection with 
the following. 

The crowning discovery having a bearing on 
this question was made by Petrie, in finding the 
stele of Merneptah, the successor of Rameses II, 
which shows that Israel in his time was already in 
Palestine, and that this ruler was not the Pharaoh of 
the Exodus. On the back of an inscription of 
Amenophis II, he had inscribed a hymn of victory, 
in which he praised himself for his glorious achieve- 
ments. 

The kings are overthrown, saying: "salam!" Not 
one holds up his head among the Nine Bows. Wasted 
is Tehenu (Libyans), Kheta (Hittites) is pacified, - 
plundered is Pekanan ("the Canaan") with every 
evil, carried of! is Askalon, seized upon is Gezer (Judges, 
i: 29), Yenoam is made as a thing not existing. Israel 
is desolated, his seed is not; Palestine has become a 
widow for Egypt. All lands are united, they are paci- 
fied, are in peace; every one that is turbulent is bound 
by king Merneptah, given life like Re, every day. 1 

This inscription shows that the Israelites were in 
Canaan in the early part of his reign, which makes 

J See Breasted, Egypt in Ancient Records, Vol III, p. 263. 



276 light on the Old Testament 

it impossible to consider him the Pharaoh of the 
Exodus, and his predecessor, Rameses II, the 
Pharaoh of the Oppression, unless the forty years in 
the wilderness be considered a myth, inasmuch as 
this stele was set up in Merneptah's fifth year. The 
word "Israel" in this inscription does not refer to a 
single city, where, as has been suggested, the 
descendants of the Israelites might have been settled 
who had been left behind in Canaan, the rest having 
migrated to Egypt ; or, who might have returned 
after the famine ; but to the people Israel in general, 
for the word has before it the determinative for a 
class of men, while the other names have the deter- 
minative which signifies that they are countries or 
cities. In the verse following that with the name 
Israel, Palestine stands as if it were in parallelism 
to it. It is possible, as some one has suggested, that 
the poem refers to Israel while in the wilderness 
south of Canaan ; but if the invasion proper followed 
shortly afterwards, should we not expect to find 
reference to Egyptian supremacy over Palestine in 
the Old Testament, and especially as we learn that 
Merneptah had invaded Gezer, which Joshua had 
conquered. 

To meet the conclusions to which this discovery 
forces us, as well as the other, concerning the tribe of 
Asher, the theory has been advanced that a portion 
of Israel left Egypt before the Exodus, and settled 
in Palestine. If such were the case, and they were 
of sufficient numbers to be mentioned, if only in a 




Stele of Pharaoh Merneptah, mentioning Israel. 



278 Light on the Old Testament 

general way, as synonymous with the term Palestine, 
we surely should expect some reference to them in 
the history of Joshua's invasion. 

Another very important consideration in this 
connection is the chronology of the Old Testament. 
It is generally recognized as a most difficult subject, 
and that it presents many difficulties. It has become 
the fashion to discredit it on the slightest pretext, 
in fact, very often without any reason. Shifting 
the Exodus two centuries later, and putting it after 
Rameses II, necessitates the lengthening of the 
Hebrew chronology for the period before and 
shortening it after the Exodus. In the period, how- 
ever, between Abraham's migration, if the date 
2100 B. C. for Hammurabi be accepted, and the date 
about 969 B. C, which is generally fixed for the 
founding of the temple, the monuments and ancient 
writers offer us remarkable synchronisms with the 
Old Testament all along the line, providing the view 
stands which has been held formerly, that the 
Exodus took place in the eighteenth dynasty instead 
of the nineteenth, as is declared by those influenced 
by Naville's discovery at Pit horn. Starting from 
2100 B. C, the 220 years in addition to the 430 of 
the sojourn, would bring the Exodus to 1450 B. C. 
Going backward from 969 B.C., the date for the 
founding of the temple, and using the 480 years of 
1 Kings 6:1 (the Septuaguint makes it 440 years) 
we should reach 1449 B. C, for the Exodus; in other 
words practically the same date. Assuming that the 



The Amarna Letters 279 

accepted date of the Exodus is not disturbed by 
the discovery that Rameses built or rebuilt Pithom, 
and that he was not the Pharaoh of Oppression, 
the letters found at Tel el- Amarna, referring to the 
Habiri invasion synchronize in a general way with 
the Hebrew conquest under Joshua. And inasmuch 
as there is no philological difficulty in regarding 
them as identical with the Hebrews, the question 
whether they actually are, becomes exceeding 
interesting. 

The impressions made by the appeals of the 
princes for assistance in these letters would lead us 
to suppose that the invasion, while perhaps of a 
serious character, could easily be controlled, if only 
Amenophis would send a few troops. Naturally 
they had the protection of walled cities and their 
own organized forces, which would enable them to 
protect themselves against a goodly number. We 
are not led to believe that the Hittites referred to can 
be regarded necessarily as an army of the Hittite 
king. Moreover, it seems as if the impression of an 
invasion was a ruse to mislead Amenophis, and that 
the operations of these allies were welcomed, and 
perhaps invited by the princes who desired to revolt. 
Rib-Abbi calls them allies of Abdi-Ashirti, the 
servant (literally dogs) of the king of Mitanni, of 
Kashi, and of the Hittites. 

Again, the invaders are called the Suti, Habiri 
and Hittites. These surely did not represent any 
organized efforts on the part of kings, but they were 



280 Light on the Old Testament 

doubtless bands of invaders. In like manner it 
would be unreasonable to regard the Habiri as the 
Hebrews entering Western Canaan under Joshua, 
for as has been stated, Adonizedec in the Old Testa- 
ment is the king of Jerusalem (Joshua 10:1); and 
not Abdi-khiba, as in the letters; or Horam is king 
of Gezer and not Yaphi; or Yabim of Hasor and 
not Abdi-tirshi ; or Yaphi is king of Lachish, and not 
Zimrida. But this conjecture is reasonable. In 
view of the fact that these allies represent bands of 
marauders of various peoples, the Habiri were 
Hebrews who had left the main body, perhaps 
while on the other side of the Jordan, or, more prob- 
able, while in the wilderness. That they pushed 
ahead, seems reasonable, and, by making alliances 
with the Canaanites who were about to break away 
from Egyptian control, made the way for the con- 
quest which followed much easier. It left the 
princes politically divided up as they were prior to 
Thothmes' invasions. In this disturbed state, 
the Egyptians having been expelled the conditions 
were such that the country was ripe for an invasion. 
The kings of Egypt following Amenophis IV were 
weak, and made no attempt, so far as is known, 
to reestablish their lost prestige. It is therefore 
quite reasonable to conjecture, owing to the peculiar 
conditions prevailing during the reign of Amenophis 
IV, and also because of the civil war which followed 
his death, that the land was practically lost to 
Egypt, about the close of his reign. This is about 



The Amarna Letters 281 

the time, or shortly afterwards that the Hebrew 
chronology fixes the conquest by Joshua. 

The Pharaoh of the Exodus would then be 
Amenophis II or III, preferably the former. 
It is a strange coincidence that though this ruler 
sat on the throne at least twenty-six years, nothing 
is known of his reign after the fifth year. Although 
disasters are not as a rule, recorded on the ancient 
monuments, this may be the reason why no reference 
to the Exodus has been found in the Egyptian 
inscriptions. Thus the old view, as formerly held by 
Egyptologists, as well as by Manetho and nearly 
all the ancient historians, who have handed down the 
traditions current among the Egyptians, seems 
altogether reasonable, namely, that the expulsion 
of the lepers, meaning Israel, took place in the 
reign of Amenophis II. 




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XII 

BABYLONIAN TEMPLE RECORDS OF 

THE SECOND MILLENNIUM 

BEFORE CHRIST 

From the beginning of the eighteenth century 
B. C, to the close of the thirteenth, foreign kings, 
known as the Cassites, ruled over Babylonia. Al- 
ready in the ninth year of Samsu-iluna, about 
2000 B. C, these foreigners invaded Babylonia, 
but were driven out, to return a little later, when 
they established themselves firmly in the land, 
and founded a new dynasty. 

It is not known as yet to what group of languages 
their tongue belongs. Efforts have been made to 
show that it is an Indo-Germanic language. Nor 
has it been determined from whence these people 
came. Some think they are connected with the 
Kissians, others associate them with Elam, while 
still others locate their native land to the north of 
that country. It is not improbable that the Hyksos, 
who ruled Egypt at that time, have some con- 
nection with their contemporaries, the Cassites; 
who ruled Babylonia. 

The temple of Bel at Nippur seems to have 
received considerable attention from several of these 

283 



284 Light on the Old Testament 

rulers. In its restoration and enlargement, in the 
latter half of the second millennium B. C, the work 
of the Cassite rulers Kadashman-Bel, Kuri-Galzu, 
and Ramman-shum-usur is quite conspicuous. Many- 
inscribed bricks of these kings have been found in 
the ruins of the Temple Ekur. Besides their devotion 
to the temple buildings, they dedicated a large num- 
ber of inscribed votive objects to the patron deities 
of Nippur; namely, Bel, Ninib, and Nusku. 1 They 
are in lapis-lazuli, magnesite, agate, ivory, feldspar, 
turquoise, glass in imitation of lapis-lazuli, etc. 
A good many of these dedicatory objects, which had 
belonged to the temple, were found 2 in a jeweler's 
shop of the late period. Perhaps found during 
excavations for some late construction, these objects 
were sold to the jeweler, who intended to use them 
as raw material in the manufacture of gems, but 
his establishment was suddenly destroyed, and the 
valuable stones buried. The following translations 3 
of inscriptions afford illustrations of these votive 
objects, most of which are quite small. 

An ivory knob, perhaps of a scepter, contains 

x The oath formulae of contracts of the second millennium 
B.C., besides the fact that a number of votive objects are 
dedicated to Nusku, as well as to Bel and Ninib, show that 
Nippur regarded all three as special patron deities. See my 
Documents from the Temple Archives of Nippur, Vol. XV, 
p. 2. 

2 See Peters, Nippur, Vol. 2, p. 77. 

3 Copies of these votive inscriptions are to be found in Hil- 
precht, Old Babylonian Inscriptions, Part 1. 



Babylonian Temple Records 285 

on its rounded top an inscription in Sumerian: 
"To Bel, his lord, Burna-Buriash, king of Babylon, 
has presented it." Similar inscriptions are found on 
little disks of lapis-lazuli, some of which are an inch 
to two inches in diameter, and about three-eighths 
to a quarter of an inch in thickness. The inscriptions 
of several of these disks mention the name of the 
stone upon which they are written; namely, ugnu. 
As a result, this familiar word was finally determined 
to mean lapis-lazuli. Another inscription reads: 
" To Nusku, his sublime minister, his lord, Kadash- 
man-Turgu has made the bright ashme of lapis-lazuli 
and presented it for his life." As the little object 
is in the form of a disk, it has been inferred that 
ashme means "disk. " 

A very interesting object is a little irregular agate 
tablet, which was also found in the jeweler's shop. 
It is about two inches by two, and about one-half 
inch in thickness, through which a small hole is 
bored. On the one side it contains an inscription 
of Dungi, about 2650 B.C., which reads: "To the 
goddess Nina, his lady, for the life of Dungi the 
powerful hero, king of Ur, Siatum." The balance 
is broken away. The other side is inscribed : " Kuri- 
Galzu, king of Karduniash, conquered the palace 
of Shasha (Shushan of Esther 1 : 2) in Elam, and pre- 
sented [it] to (the goddess) Belit, his lady, for his 
life." In other words, the history of this little tablet 
is as follows : Dungi had it inscribed and presented 
to the goddess Nina, presumably in Erech. Later 



286 



Light on the Old Testament 



it was carried to Elam. Ashurbanipal informs us 
that a statue of the same goddess had been carried 
to Elam by Kudur-Nankhundi, 2285 B.C., who with 
his hordes invaded Babylonia. He brought back 
the statue of the goddess, and restored it to her 
shrine in Erech. Doubtless this little tablet had 
been carried away to Elam at the same time. 
Kuri-Galzu, about 1250 B. C, conquered Elam, and 




OBVERSE 

Inscription of Dungi (2650 B. C). 



REVERSE 

Inscription of Kuri-Galzu (1250 B.C.). 



among other booty brought back with him this 
little tablet. Again it was dedicated to a Babylonian 
goddess, but this time to Beltis, the consort of Bel, 
at Nippur. In the late days of Babylonian history, it 
found its way into the jeweler's shop, with other 
inscribed pieces of valuable stone. The gem cutter's 
labors being interrupted, the little tablet was buried. 
Its discoverer has caused it to be removed once 



Babylonian Temple Records 287 

more from Babylonia, its last resting-place being in 
the Imperial Ottoman Museum at Constantinople. 
It is, of course, not impossible that some day it 
will again be returned to Babylonia. 

Another interesting object which was found near 
the temple area is a fragment of a votive battle-axe. 




Prayer of Nazi-Maruttash on imitation of lapis-lazuli. 

It contains a beautiful prayer of Nazi-Maruttash. 
Unfortunately the dedication and conclusion are 
wanting, but when complete doubtless read: [To 
Bel (or some other god) his lord], Nazi-Maruttash, 
the son of Kuri-Galzu, to hear his prayer; to be 
favorable unto his supplications; to accept his 
sigh, to protect his life, to lengthen his days, [does 



288 Light on the Old Testament 

he present this bright lapis-lazuli axe]. It would 
be interesting to know whether the restoration in 
brackets is correct, and that he actually called it 
lapis-lazuli ; for it is only an imitation of that stone, 
being made of glass, and colored with cobalt. If 
that is true, he cheated his god. 

Other votive objects, for example, a large irregular 
block of lapis-lazuli dedicated by Kadashman-Turgu, 
and a small one by Kadashman-Bel, besides small 
tablets of different shapes, were found, having been 
at one time the property of the temple. While 
other Babylonian temples of this period have not 
been disinterred, and the cities where the Cassite 
rulers lived is unknown, unless perhaps Dur-Kuri- 
Galzu, it seems as if Nippur received considerable 
attention at the hands of these foreign rulers. 
Whether other Babylonian temples were embellished, 
and favored by them, as was Ekur, future excava- 
tions will determine. 

Besides these votive objects and bricks, only a 
few other inscriptions have been published belonging 
to this dynasty, notably several boundary-stones, 
or deeds of territorial grants. Most of these have 
been found in Susa by de Morgan, having been 
carried away by the Elamites. The discovery at 
Nippur, therefore, of about 18,000 clay tablets and 
fragments of tablets, large and small, baked and 
unbaked, belonging to this dark period, must be 
heartily welcomed by scholars; although the in- 
scriptions only represent the records of the temple 



Babylonian Temple Records 289 

revenues, and their disbursement. But, while they 
are disappointing in not throwing much light 
upon historical questions, they throw considerable 
upon the nomenclature and incidentally upon 
religious questions, as well as enable us to gather 
much data for a better understanding of the inner 
workings of an ancient temple, especially as regards 
its maintenance. While there is no connection 
whatever with the Hebrew temple, which belongs 
to a later period, these documents will at least 
illustrate how the administrative affairs of such an 
institution were conducted, especially when it was 
maintained by the tithes of the people. 

On the second campaign of the excavations at 
Nippur, in 1890, Doctor Peters discovered a large 
collection of thoroughly-baked tablets, a good many 
of which were dated in the reigns of these Cassite 
rulers. They were found at a little distance from 
the southwest wall of the palace, known as the 
" Court of Columns, " in the western half of the city. 
About three years later, Doctor Haynes resumed 
active explorations at this as well as at another 
point, in the southern part of the city where excava- 
tions had also been previously made. Thousands 
of tablets and fragments were recovered from the 
ruins of these mounds. Several rooms of an ancient 
palace were explored, which turned out to be archive 
rooms where the temple records were kept. The 
tablets were preserved in the very position in which 
they were left when the building was destroyed. 

19 



290 Light on the Old Testament 

He found some "placed on their edges, reclining 
against each other, like a shelf of leaning books 
in an ill-kept library of to-day. In other instances 
the tablets were found in great confusion, showing 
that at the time when they were buried, they had 
fallen [perhaps from wooden shelves] into the debris 
which covered them." 1 Most of these tablets are 
unbaked. 

All the dated tablets belong to the latter half of 
the second millennium before Christ. Most of the 
tablets found belong to the reigns of the following 
rulers: Burna-Buriash II, Kuri-Galzu II, Nazi- 
Maruttash, Kadashman-Turgu, Kadashman-Bel II, 
Kudur-Bel, Shagarakti-Shuriash, and Bitiliash. A 
great many do not bear dates, and others do not 
mention the name of the king, but only the year, 
month, and day of the reign in which they were 
written. These can be assigned generally to the 
reigns mentioned, because they were found inter- 
mingled with the others, in the same archives; 
because they have the same general appearance as 
regards the form and texture of clay ; but especially 
because the same officers mentioned in them appear 
in those having complete dates. 

After studying these tablets, I came to the con- 
clusion 2 that they are temple administrative ac- 

1 From the diary kept by Doctor Haynes on the scene of 
operations. 

2 See Documents from the Temple Archives of Nippur, 
Vols. XIV and XV of the Babylonian Expedition of the Uni- 



Babylonian Temple Records 291 

counts, which were kept in connection with the 
collection and disbursement of the revenues gathered 
for the maintenance of the sanctuary. In other 
words, they are records of temple taxes collected 
from the outlying towns and districts about Nippur ; 
commercial transactions conducted by the officials 
of the temple, in which they used the revenues as 
capital; and pay-rolls of all in the temple service, 
from the head official of the storehouse, the priest, 
the warden, down to the lowest servant. 

Those dealing with the receipt of revenues throw 
little light upon the question as to how the taxes 
were levied. The revenues are designated as the 
full tax, the maintenance tax, or so many qa tax 
(i.e., from four to twelve qa), etc. This qa is a 
fraction of the gur (=180 qa), a dry measure; but 
in these records it refers to animals and liquids, as 



versity of Pennsylvania. The documents are written in the 
Babylonian language, with the exception of certain Sumerian 
phrases, which were frequently used. At Nippur the temple 
documents of an earlier period seem to have been written 
entirely in Sumerian. At Telloh upwards of 30,000 tablets 
from the temple archives have been found. These are written 
in Sumerian. Several publications of them have already ap- 
peared: Arnold, Ancient Babylonian Temple Records (1896); 
Reisner, Tempelurkunden aus Telloh (1901); Thureau-Dangin, 
Recueil de Tablettes Chaldeennes (1903); Virolleand, Compta- 
bilite Chaldeenne (1903); British Museum Series of Cuneiform 
Texts; Barton, Haverford Library Collection of Cuneiform 
Tablets (1906). Hundreds of Neo-Babylonian documents of 
the same general character have been published by Father 
Strassmaier. under the title Babvlonische Texts. 



i 



29% Light on the Old Testament 

well as cereals, for the tax was paid in kind. It 
may refer to a percentage of the amount harvested 
by the people of the district; or it may have been 
per capita. It is, however, more likely an income 
tax, which had been levied upon the lands in and 
about Nippur for the maintenance of the temple, 
a custom with which we are familiar in modern 
times in certain countries. By the number of qa 
mentioned, we are to understand perhaps that the 
4 qa tax was for fallow lands, or for the minimum 
which those less prosperous were allowed to pay; 
while the 10 qa or full tax, was for arable lands. 
In other words, the lower amount was what the poor 
man was permitted to pay, a privilege enjoyed not 
only in Babylonia, but in Israel as well. 

In a number of tablets, the purpose of the tax is 
set forth; for instance, in some it is recorded as 
having been given for the priests; in others, for 
temple servants, or salaries of the storehouse 
officials ; or for the maintenance expenses in general. 

That these documents are records of temple 
revenues is clear from expressions found in them. 
Payments, for instance, are made out of the funds 
called "the temple stipends;" or out of the "full 
tax of the house of god." Then also they are made 
to the "male and female temple servants," besides 
the priests, temple-gatemen, singers, seers and 
seeresses, etc. 

A great many towns are mentioned whence the 
income was received. They were apparently hamlets 



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Topographical map showing towns, canals, and a road in the vicinity of Nippur. 
On the left edge an additional town is represented. 



294 Light on the Old Testament 

and villages belonging to the environs of Nippur. 
On a topographical map 1 discovered by Doctor 
Haynes somewhere at Nippur, during the third 
campaign, the relative positions of no less than eight 
towns are given, indicating also canals- and a road 
upon which they were situated. Three of the towns 
of this map are mentioned in these records. Doubt- 
less in the archive room where the temple records 
were kept, a complete set of such maps of the entire 
district about Nippur was to be found, especially 
of those towns whence the incoming revenues were 
derived. 

The taxes collected were deposited in the town 
storehouse or treasury, where they were stored until 
needed. A good many of the towns seem to have had 
granaries. Several large storehouses existed in 
Nippur, two of which, perhaps, are to be seen on 
another topographical map, which is of Nippur 
proper. If this conjecture, after the map has been 
cleaned and studied proves correct, they were 
situated to the north of the temple (see page in). 
In most of the records, the storehouse whence the 
property was taken is mentioned, as well as the kind 
of tax. These facts were doubtless recorded to show 
what disposition had been made of the revenues. 
In fact, the recording of such data served a number 
of purposes. 

1 Published by the writer in the Transactions of the Depart- 
ment of Archeology, University of Pennsylvania, Vol. i, part 3, 
p. 2231". 



Babylonian Temple Records 295 

To illustrate the general character of these records, 
the following translations are offered. The first 
two record the receipt of revenues. 

Corn, the full tax,which Khunnubi [the agent] brought 
from the town Kalbia. 33 gur from Bit-Marduk- 
nishu, ^^ gur 150 qa from Bit-Gimillum. Total 67 gur 
120 qa. The month Sivan, day ninth, year twenty- 
first. (Vol. XV, No. 113) 1 . 

25 gur of grain of the 10 5a tax from the town 
Kandure Sin-issakhra [the agent] brought to the temple 
(literally house). The month Shebet, year fifteenth. 
(Vol. XV, No. 89). 

These two officials, who figure very prominently in 
these texts, doubtless acted as agents in the collec- 
tion of certain revenues which were due, but which 
had not been paid. 

The following refer to business transactions 
conducted by the officials in the interest of the temple, 
with the revenues as capital. Loans of various kinds 
were made by the temple officers. When the people, 
for instance, needed assistance, they went to the 
temple to borrow grain in order to sow their fields. 
Interest, contrary to what some have claimed, 
was exacted from them. In some of the records of 
loans, this condition is stipulated. The time fixed 
for the payment of such loans was generally on the 
day of harvest. 

1 These references are to tablets published in Documents 
from the Temple Archives of Nippur, dated in the reign of Cassite 
rulers, Volumes XIV and XV of the Babylonian Expedition of 
the University of Pennsylvania. 



296 Light on the Old Testament 

One gur of grain, of the full tax, in shapiltu, with 
interest, from the storehouse, is at the disposal of 
Burra-Ishtar, son of Ushbi-Sakh. On the day of his 
harvest, the grain and its interest, he shall pay. 

Before Sin-issakhra, [the witness], before Ramman- 
eresh the measurer. The month Ab, year twelfth. 
The sisiktu [instead of the seal] of Burra-Ishtar. (Vol. 
XV, 30). 

This is a case tablet. The tablet proper does not 
have the names of the witnesses, nor does it refer 
to the substitute sisiktu which had been used instead 
of the seal. On the case is a clearly-defined small 
hole, made while the clay was soft, by something 
called sisiktu (see page 175). 

1 gur 12 go of grain of the 6 qa tax in shapiltu is in 
the possession of Sin-damaqu. The horse-feed he shall 
pay; whereupon his seal he shall break. The month 
Shebet, day twenty-eighth of the year fifteenth. Seal 
of Sin-damaqu. (Vol. XV. 49). 

Seal impressions were occasionally made on the 
tablets of this period. This one may have been 
encased, but it has the general appearance of being 
a tablet which had not been enveloped. The ex- 
pression "break the seal" meant the destroying 
of the tablet which recorded the debt and which had 
upon it the impression of the man's seal. Doubtless 
when the debt was satisfied the case bearing the 
individual's seal was broken off, but the tablet 
proper was preserved in the archives as a record of 
the transaction. 

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298 Light on the Old Testament 

(temple property) which the officials rented to an 
individual for stock raising. The document fully 
stipulates what the amount of rent was to be. 
It is dated in the fifth year of Nazi-Maruttash : 

Forty-seven sheep [male], twenty-eight large females, 
seven [male], seven suckling females. Total, eighty- 
nine sheep, thirty-four large goats [male], thirty-one 
female, seven male kids, eight female goats. Total, 
eighty goats. Sum total, one hundred and sixty-nine 
Kleinvieh. [For one hundred and sixty-nine] sheqels 
of wool; (i.e., for) one sheep, one sheqel; forty-four 
and one-half minas of wool ; twenty minas of goat wool ; 
they are at the disposal of RaM-sha-Ninib. All his 
hides he shall weigh; sinews and fat of sheep, two 
perfect goat hides; one perfect garment, he shall 
pay. (Vol. XIV, No. 48). 

The bulk of these archives are receipts for amounts 
paid to the temple officials in salaries, for general 
supplies, or for work done. In other words they are 
pay-rolls. The privilege of service in the temple 
was in many cases hereditary. Certain families 
were entitled to fill offices, because of service that 
was rendered the state or the temple by them or 
by an ancestor. In the days of Arioch two in- 
dividuals, Sin-imguranni and Sin-uzili, had their 
rights confirmed, which were for five days' service 
each year in the temple of Belit, and eight days in 
the shrine of Gula, respectively. Other references 
to similar rights to act in the capacity of an official 
are on record. There was a whole host of tradesmen 
and functionaries in connection with the temple. 
Besides the priest, elder, seer, seeress, sorcerer, 



Babylonian Temple Records 299 

singer, etc., there were the farmer, weaver, miller, 
carpenter, smith, butcher, baker, potter, overseer, 
scribe, measurer, watchman, etc. 

In this series of documents, i.e. which contain 
payments of salaries there are two tablets which are 
quite similar, the one having been written two 
years after the other. One individual, however, had 
died during the intervening time. The salary of one 
man had been reduced from 36 qa to 24 qa per month, 
while that of another had been raised from 30 qa 
to 36 qa. Only one name is changed. A man is 
replaced by a woman at the same salary of 30 qa 
per month. These tablets record the payments made 
for the first seven months of the year. The grant 
to render service may have been only for that 
length of time each year. 

These rights were negotiable, as they could be 
sold, traded, or pledged, doubtless subject to a 
reversion to the owner at a fixed time. In these 
pay-rolls there are certain individuals whose names 
occur repeatedly in the same document. Doubtless 
they made a business of leasing temple allowances 
from individuals, furnishing substitutes where it 
was necessary to render service. Certain grants 
that are on record carefully stipulate that the right 
could not be sold, but became hereditary. 

A great many names in the pay-rolls have Mar 
or Marat prefixed, meaning "son" and "daughter," 
like Scotch names with Mac. In case a son of 
Irimshu-Ninib filled the office, he was called Mar- 



300 Light on the Old Testament 

Irimshu-Ninib, representing thus the name of the 
head of the family, who may have been deceased. The 
transliteration, and in part translation on pages 302 
and 303, is of one of the finest specimens of this class 
of documents that has found its way to Philadel- 
phia (see opposite page) . It records the payment of 
grain and dates as temple stipends for twelve months. 
In the first line the names of the months are given. 
In the first six columns are recorded that which was 
paid for the first six months. In the seventh, the 
total (napfoar) for the first half year is given. In 
the fourteenth, the total for the second half year; 
and in the fifteenth the amount for the entire year. 
In the next column, awilutum means "men." In 
this column, the stage in life of the individual whose 
name appears in the following is given. If he or 
she were a member of a family the relation of the 
recipient to the head of the family is indicated. 
KAL means " adult; " SAL, or the feminine determi- 
native, "woman;" KAL-TUR, "adult son;" SAL- 
TUR, "adult daughter;" KAL-TUR-TUR, "adult 
grandson;" TUR-GAB, "boy;" SAL-TUR-GAB, 
"girl." In this column also are found the words 
BAD, "deceased," and HA-A, "fugitive." It will 
be noticed that no amounts are recorded as having 
been paid the individuals before whom these two 
words are written. At the top of the last column, 
MU-BI-im means "his name," but here stands for 
"their names." In this column the names of the 
beneficiaries are recorded. In a number of instances, 





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Transliteration (in part translation) of the Document, found on the previous page, 



5 

w> I < 



E i E 



i - 



® :.|s. 



i ■- = 

-r"« "S 



S, E 



K I 



2 I 



J* o« o- 

> C) — 



recording the payment of Temple Stipends for twelve months. 



304 Light on the Old Testament 

the office represented by the individual follows the 
name, as gate- watchman, weaver, seeress, etc. 
Whole families are mentioned as receiving stipends. 
The name of the individual in line five is followed by 
wife, daughter, two sons, and a grandson. 

In line eight, after the name is written ultu 
Tashritu Jiarranu, "from Tishri, road." Nothing 
was paid the individual from that month. It is not 
improbable that he had leave of absence; perhaps 
he was on a mission in the interest of the temple. 
Others (see line 13, etc.) were absent for the entire 
year. 

Beneath naphar in the seventh column the line 
means, "what was received from Khunabi," the 
bursar. The lines beginning beneath the second 
naphar in the same line read: "grain which is out 
of the gate [storehouse], which is out of the grain 
received from the town Zarat-Im. In the forty- 
seventh line, the totals paid to all during the first 
month are given; also the total for the first six 
months; and the total for the second six, which is 
followed by the sum total. The little note in con- 
nection with the total for the first six months reads : 
that "which was paid out of the grain of Khunabi." 
The next note reads "that which was out of the 
grain of the gate storehouse, from Zarat-Im, and 
dates from Tamtu. The number 38 in the next 
column refers to the actual number in the service. 
In all there are forty-six names in the list, but eight 
were dead or fugitives. The last two lines read: 







'^f%£ 



* ' life 






These two documents are dated in the 7th and 9th months of the 14th year of 
Nazi-Maruttash. They record payments made to the heads of the same families 
mentioned in the larger document of the previous year (see p. 301), but only for a 
month and a fraction. 

20 



306 Light on the Old Testament 

"Grain of the 6 qa tax, which is from the month 
Nisan of the thirteenth year, unto Adar, of the 
fourteenth year of Nazi-Maruttash ; from the seed 
which was given into the hands of Khunabi; from 
the grain out of the gate [storehouse], of the seed 
from Zarat-Im, and dates from Tamtu." This 
lengthy record is therefore a statement of the temple 
bu 'sar of amounts paid to a group of temple bene- 
ficiaries for a period of one year, as well as the sources 
from which the revenues were received. What 
relation the recipients bear to the entire number 
of temple functionaries is not known. In several 
other documents of the following years, which were 
only for a month and a fraction, this same group of 
persons, with some changes, received stipends. But 
instead of giving the name of each member of the 
families, the word qinnu, "family," precedes the 
name of the pater or mater familias, to whom the 
full amount was paid. Doubtless at the end of the 
year statements similar to the previous one discussed 
were drawn up for the entire year. 

A large number of the smaller documents, found 
among the archives, are records of salaries which 
were paid to the head officials of the institution. 

31 gur 30 qa of grain, food for horses, out of the 
maintenance tax; 19 sheep, 21 lambs, salary, from 
the month Tebet unto the fourth day of Nisan (for) 
Innannu. Month Nisan : day fourth, year first. (Vol. 
XV, No. 1.) 

2 gur 60 qa grain out of the maintenance tax, 2 sheep, 
2 lambs as salary for Innannu. (Vol. XV, No. 2.) 



Babylonian Temple Records 



307 



Innannu was one of the head officials of the store- 
house. With the possible exception of one passage 
in which "scribe" follows the name Innannu, no 
title is found in connection with his name, which 
occurs hundreds of times. He is represented as 









Receipts or records of payments made by the administrative department of 
the temple. Hundreds of documents of this size and character were found in the 
archives. 



receiving taxes, making disbursements and loans. 
During the time he administered affairs, he seems 
to have been at the head of the department. The 
name of others who succeeded him become well 
known from the texts, only, however, in business 
transactions. Practically nothing of a personal 



308 Light on the Old Testament 

character concerning these individuals becomes 
known to us through the inscriptions that have 
been published. 

Usually the seal impression of another is made 
upon this class of documents, evidently <by' an 
officer who delivered the articles mentioned at the 
residence of the official, and who was required to 
leave the impression of his seal upon the record of 
payment which was held by the bursar. This was 
a guarantee that the delivery officer had paid the 
amount. 

Some of the pay-rolls were quite lengthy. They 
seem to have been copied frequently from year to 
year from earlier lists and then what was paid was 
checked off. The nature of the writing material, 
being clay,- made it necessary to write the tablet at 
one sitting. Of course it was possible to wrap the 
tablet in a damp cloth, and lay it aside temporarily, 
thus preventing it from hardening. This is clearly 
shown to have been done, as is determined by cloth 
marks, and also by the marks made upon the tablets 
in checking off the ■ amounts paid ; for some were 
made after the tablets were almost hard. But the 
indications are that the scribes usually finished 
writing tablets before they laid them aside. Some 
lists, as above, contain many names and amounts 
which were paid to individuals ; in some cases what 
was received for a number of months. To indicate 
what was actually paid small holes, round or semi- 
spherical, before the name or amounts were made. 




Record of salary payments made to priests in the Temple service, 
holes are checkmarks used to check off the amounts paid. 



The small 



310 Light on the Old Testament 

These I have determined to be check-marks. 1 
It is not unlikely that the upper end of the stylus 
was used to make these indentures. 

These documents, as well as many others dis- 
covered in other ancient Babylonian cities, show 
how carefully the business affairs of the temple 
were conducted. Among the records also are a 
number of letters representing the official corres- 
pondence of the heads of this executive department 
of the temple, but these have not yet been 
deciphered. 

It will be readily seen that these administrative 
documents show that the affairs of the Babylonian 
temple of the second millennium B. C. were con- 
ducted along lines similar to those of some modern 
religious institutions with which we are acquainted. 
It is not improbable that the temple at Jerusalem 
was conducted in a similar manner; and that were 
we able to recover any of the records, which in all 
probability were written on perishable material, 
they would resemble in many ways those found at 
Nippur and other Babylonian cities. 

The study of these documents has resulted also in 
the determination of some technical details, such as 
the discovery of two new cuneiform characters and 
their values, besides additional values for hitherto 
unknown signs, a large number of new Cassite 
words, and more than a score of names and epithets 



1 See Documents from the Temple Archives of Nippur, 
Vol. XIV, p. 1 6. 




Record of payments made to the Temple and different shrines of Nippur. 



312 Light on the Old Testament 

of gods. Among the published documents also are 
a number of private contracts, the provenience of 
which is unknown, but which may have come from 
the office of the temple recorder ; and also an inter- 
esting tablet, which is a report of an examination of 
a sheep's liver for divination purposes. It is quite 
probable that it is a report of an examination to 
a high functionary, perhaps the king, who abode in 
Dur-Kurigalzu near Nippur, which preceded some 
official act, and in regard to which it was important 
to determine in advance the disposition of the gods. 



XIII 

THE ASSYRIAN HISTORICAL 
INSCRIPTIONS 

To Assyria more than to any other country do we 
look for archeological data which furnish points of 
contact by yielding parallel accounts of events 
recorded, as well as by the help of which the pages 
of the Old Testament are illuminated. It is to the 
Assyrian period that a considerable portion of the 
Old Testament refers. No less than six Assyrian 
rulers are mentioned by name: Tiglathpileser (or 
Pul), Shalmaneser (IV), Sargon, Sennacherib, Esar- 
haddon and Asnapper (Ashurbanipal) . It must be 
regarded as an interesting fact that nearly every 
reference made in the Old Testament to these 
rulers is in some way touched upon in their 
annals. 

With the exception of the invasion by Shishak 
(Shashank I) recorded in i Kings 14: 25 and follow- 
ing, and which is also recorded on the temple wall 
at Karnak, Israel was left unmolested by Egypt 
after the time of Pharaoh Merneptah. Babylonia 
had become a second rate power. Assyria, of which 
we hear for the first time in the days of Hammurabi, 

313 



314 Light on the Old Testament 

had by this time developed into a world-conquering 
nation, and was in a position to play an impor- 
tant role among the nations. 

Under Tukulti-Ninib (890-885) Assyria entered 
upon the most brilliant period of its history. Baby- 
lonia was annexed.. The forced rule lasted seven 
years, at the end of which time the subjects of 
Tukulti-Ninib, under the leadership of his own son, 
rebelled. In the civil war which followed, the king 
was killed. His son and successor, Ashur-nasir- 
apal (884-860), did not attempt to continue the 
rule over Babylonia, but carried his work of con- 
quest into the North and West. Tyre and Sidon, 
when he reached the shores of the Mediterranean, 
paid him tribute. Samaria at this time was not 
molested, but the disintegration of the surrounding 
kingdoms was bound sooner or later to involve the 
Israelites as well, when the ambitious enemy of the 
Tigris valley, in his efforts to extend his rule 
throughout Western Asia, directed his attention to 
the overthrow of their fortified cities. The begin- 
ning of the end of Israel took place in the reign 
which followed. 

Shalmaneser II (860-824) devoted a good deal 
of his long rule to the establishment of his power 
in the West. In. the mountains of Armenia, at a 
place called Kurkh, south of Diarbekir, a long mono- 
lith inscription was erected by the king, in order to 
commemorate his deeds. This is now in the British 
Museum. In it he informs us that after setting out 



Assyrian Inscriptions 



315 



from the Euphrates, in the sixth year of his reign, 
he approached Khalman (Aleppo) , where he received 




The Assyrians besieging a walled city. 

tribute. He then advanced to the cities of Irkhuleni 
of Hamath: 



316 Light on the Old Testament 

Adenu, Barga, Argana, his royal city, I conquered; 
his spoil, his property, the possessions of his palaces I 
brought forth; to his palaces I set fire. I departed 
from Argana, and came to Qarqar. Qarqar, his royal 
city, I destroyed, I devastated, with fire I burned. 1,200 
chariots, 1,200 saddle-horses, 20,000 men of Adad-'idri 
(biblical Ben-hadad II) of Damascus, 700 chariots, 
700 saddle-horses, 10,000 men of Irkhuleni of Khamath, 
2,000 chariots, 10,000 men of Ahab of Israel (A-kha-ab- 
bu mat Sir-'i-la-ai), 500 men of Gue, 1,000 of Mutsri, 10 
chariots, 10,000 men of Irqanat, 200 men of Matinu- 
Ba'li, of Arvad, 200 men of Usanata, 30 chariots, 10,000 
men of Adunu-Ba'liof Shianu, 1,000 camels of Gindibu'u, 
of Arbu, 1,000 men of Ba'sha, son of Rukhubi of Ammon ; 
these twelve kings he took to help him; to make war 
and battle they came to meet me. With the splendid 
forces which Ashur the lord had given, with the mighty 
weapons, which Nergal, who marches before me, had 
presented, I fought with them; from Qarqar to Gilzau 
their defeat I established. 14,000 soldiers, their fighting 
men with the sword I laid low with [myj weapons, etc. 

In this inscription we have the first mention of 
Israel that has been found in the Assyrian inscrip- 
tions. The information gained is especially valuable, 
as the alliance with the other kings and the conflict 
with Shalmaneser II is not recorded in the Old 
Testament. The obelisk, mentioned below, gives 
a resume of this campaign, and fixes the number 
killed at 20,500; and still another inscription at 
25,000. As usual, the Assyrian losses are not given. 
There is little doubt but that the armies of the allies 
were defeated, and even the confederation broken 
up ; but as there is no claim of territory having been 
acquired; or that tribute was exacted; or that 



Assyrian Inscriptions 317 

booty was carried away, the real issue was not as 
advantageous to the Assyrians as the chronicler 
would have the reader of his annals infer. 

No reference is made in the Old Testament to 
Ahab's alliance with Syria, or to other kings 
who were routed by Shalmaneser. The account 
given in i Kings 20 concerning the conflict of Ahab 
with Ben-Hadad must be understood to belong to 
the period prior to their alliance against the Assyrian 
king. The book of Kings represents Ben-Hadad 
surrendering to Ahab with a rope about his neck, 
after which he promised to restore the cities taken 
from Israel by his father, and to allow Ahab to build 
streets in Damascus. The latter doubtless readily 
-agreed to such conditions because he recognized 
that difficulties were in store for the Western nations 
at the hands of Assyrians; and he felt that for 
prudential purposes it was better for him to permit 
Syria, which lay between him and Assyria, to main- 
tain its strength ; and to be allied with that nation, 
rather than be at war with it. When, therefore, 
Shalmaneser entered this region on a campaign of 
conquest, Ben-Hadad, Irkhuleni, Ahab, and others 
were ready to meet him. The alliance however, 
seems to have been broken up by the defeat 
which Shalmaneser inflicted upon them. 

In the identification of Ahabbu with Ahab, in 
this inscription, we have an additional chronicle 
of the kings of Israel, which may have had very 
far-reaching consequences had Shalmaneser been 



318 Light on the Old Testament 

entirely successful; for Israel might then have 
lost its independence. The Hebrew chronicler does 
not mention the event. Perhaps it was because the 
people were not in sympathy with such an alliance, 
and the battle had involved only the army, which 
fought far beyond the confines of the land. Israel, 
under Jehu, paid tribute to Shalmaneser, and this 
also was omitted in the brief extracts which are pre- 
served in the Old Testament of the annals of these 
reigns. 

In the Old Testament, the king of Syria is called 
Ben-Hadad, while in the Assyrian inscriptions he 
is called Adad-'idri. The full name of the king 
doubtless was Ben-Hadad-'idri. The Assyrian has 
preserved the latter part of the name, while the 
Hebrew simply the name of the deity. Names 
compounded with Ben-Hadad are known from the 
contract literature, for example: Ben-Addu-natan, 
and Ben-Addu-amara. 

Five years later the land of Hamath is again 
attacked. Shalmaneser is again confronted by 
twelve allies, under the leadership of Ben-Hadad II 
of Damascus and Irkhuleni of Hamath; but the 
king of Israel is not among them. The Assyrians 
claim to have slain ten thousand in this battle but 
again no important advantage is gained. The 
conclusion we must draw is that the allies were able 
to resist the advances of the Assyrians. Several 
years later another attempt was made, after his 
army had been greatly reenforced ; and he informs 



Assyrian Inscriptions 319 

us that he again accomplished their defeat. But 
for the same reasons, no other conclusion can be 
reached, but that the battle proved a draw. Four 
years later, Shalmaneser tested once more their 
prowess, but with better success. Ben-Hadad II 
was no more. Hazael, the usurper, ruled in his 
stead. The alliance with the other kings appar- 
ently had been broken up. Hazael alone deter- 
mined to resist the Assyrians, and at Saniru took a 
stand (842 B. C.) On a slab found at Calah, Shal- 
maneser gives an account of his victory. 

In the eighteenth year of my reign, for the sixteenth 
time I crossed the Euphrates. Hazael of Damascus 
trusted in the mass of his troops, and mustered his army 
in great numbers. Saniru, a mountain peak, which is at 
the entrance of the Lebanon mountain, he made for his 
stronghold. With him I fought; his defeat I established. 
Six thousand soldiers, his warriors, with arms I brought 
low. 1,121 of his chariots, 470 of his riding-horses, with 
his camp-baggage, I took from him. In order to save 
his life, he made off. After him I went. In Damascus, 
his royal city, I besieged him. His plantations I cut 
down. As far as the mountains of Hauran, I went. 
Cities without number I destroyed. I devastated, [and] 
with fire I burned. Their spoil, beyond reckoning, I car- 
ried away. As far as the mountain Ba'lirasi, which is a 
promontory of the sea, I went. The image of my royalty 
on it I set up. At that time, I received the tribute of 
the Tyrians and Sidonians, [and] of Jehu, the son of 
Omri. 

In accordance with 2 Kings 8:15, Hazael is 
mentioned by Shalmaneser as the successor of Ben- 
Hadad. It seems that the allies of Damascus had 



320 Light on the Old Testament 

enough. Tyre and Si don preferred to send gifts 
instead of continuing the conflict. Jehu, the usurper, 




The black obelisk of Shalmaneser II. 



perhaps in the hope of freeing himself from the 
Syrians, and also because of the alarming advances 
of the formidable Assyrian, was willing to send 



Assyrian Inscriptions 321 

costly gifts. This, apparently, was the first step 
towards the downfall of Israel, for the advan- 
tage thus gained by the Assyrians assumed greater 
and greater proportions, until that people was 
finally absorbed. 

On the famous black obelisk which Layard 
discovered at Nimroud, Shalmaneser depicted him- 
self in bas-relief, receiving tribute from Jehu. He 
calls him " son of Omri," or "of the house of Omri ;" 
not knowing that Jehu had usurped the throne by 
overthrowing the dynasty of Omri. It is possible 
also that by the term "Omri" he means "Israel;" 
as for many years the country was known in 
Assyria as Mat Omri, " Land of Omri. " The inscrip- 
tion over the line of bas-relief referring to Israel 
reads : — 

Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: silver, gold, a golden 
bowl, a golden ladle, golden chalices, golden buckets, 
lead, a staff for the hand of the king, spear-shafts (?) I 
received. 

Hazael, being defeated, fled to Damascus, where 
he was besieged by the Assyrians, but was 
not conquered. Three years later, the sixth and 
final, but unsuccessful, attempt was made to estab- 
lish the supremacy of Assyria over Damascus. 

Jehu, in seeking favor of Assyria by paying trib- 
ute, did not gain any special advantages over 
the old enemy Syria; for in 2 Kings io:32f we 
learn that Hazael greatly humiliated Israel after 

21 



322 Light on the Old Testament 

Shalmaneser had withdrawn. The same is true of 
Jehoahaz, Jehu's son; for Syria, under Hazael's son, 
Ben-Hadad III, reduced Israel, "and had made 
them to be trodden down like the dust. " 

For about forty years the West-land was left 
unmolested by Assyria. Shamshi-Adad (824-812) 
succeeded Shalmaneser. Although the kingdom had 
been expanded farther than at any previous time, 
it now became so contracted that the rulers con- 
trolled scarcely anything beyond the immediate 
surroundings of their capitals. 

In 2 Kings 13: 5, we .learn that Jehoahaz, in his 
dire extremity because of the oppression of Syria, 
"besought the Lord." "And the Lord gave Israel a 
saviour, so that they went out from under the hand 
of the Syrians." The name of the deliverer is not 
mentioned, but it doubtless was Adad-nirari (812- 
783). In an inscription he tells how he brought 
into submission the princes of the four quarters of 
the world, and how he conquered many lands, 
among which was Syria. 

As far as the great sea of the rising sun, from above 
the Euphrates, the land of the Hittites and Amorites to 
its entirety, the land of Tyre, the land of Zidon, the 
land of Omri, the land of Edom, the land of the Philis- 
tines as far as the great sea of the setting sun, I sub- 
jected to my feet. Tribute and presents I placed on 
them: Against the land of Damascus I marched; Mari, 
the king of Damascus I shut up in Damascus his royal 
city. The terror of the majesty of Ashur, his lord, over- 
whelmed him; he embraced my feet, [and] became a 
vassal. 2300 talents of silver, 20 talents of gold, 3000 




The second line of bas-relief which extends around the four sides of the 
obelisk, recording the payment of tribute by biblical Jehu who prostrates himself 
before Shahnaneser. 



324 Light on the Old Testament 

talents of copper, 5000 talents of iron, variegated cloth, 
linen, an ivory bed, a seat with inlaid ivory, a table, his 
possessions, his property beyond reckoning in Damascus 
his royal city, in his palace I received. 

In this inscription we learn how Israel was able 
to prevail over the old enemy, Syria. The deliverer, 
i.e., the Assyrian king, exacted tribute from Israel. 
Syria, however, was at last crushed. 

The successor to the Assyrian throne, Shalmaneser 
III, followed up the advantage gained over Syria. 
Ashur-dan, the next ruler, did the same. But Assyria 
beyond this was inactive in the West-land. Because 
of this and the chastisement given Syria, and because 
of the decline of that nation, Israel was able to regain 
its lost prestige. In consequence, Jeroboam II 
extended the borders of Israel farther than had 
been done at any previous or subsequent time. 
His conquest included Hamath, Damascus, and 
Moab. His armies were planted on the banks of 
the Euphrates. The commercial interests of the 
nation were greatly increased, the resources greatly 
enlarged. In short, it was a brilliant burst of pros- 
perity prior to the calamity which was to befall 
the nation. It was also during this period that 
Uzziah of Judah, who was on friendly terms with 
Israel, was able to conquer the Philistines, and his 
country was extended to the south, so that in 
this direction his kingdom reached practically the 
old boundaries of Solomon's rule. Not since the 
division of the kingdom had the tribes been able to 



Assyrian Inscriptions 325 

extend their political influence as they did during 
this period; nor had they previously realized such 
prosperity. Unquestionably this was due to the 
inactivity of Assyria and the fact that the old 
enemy, Syria, was crushed. 

It was during this period that there was an eclipse 
of the sun in the month of Sivan. In the Assyrian 
Eponym chronicle there is recorded for the ninth 
year of Ashur-dan the following: " Bur-Sagale, of 
Guzanu. Rebellion in the city of Ashur. In the 
month Sivan there was an eclipse of the sun." As- 
tronomers fix the date at June 15, 736. The eclipse 
at this unfortunate time was regarded as an evil 
omen. Disorder at home, and in neighboring dis- 
tricts, which were under the suzerainty of Assyria, 
continued for over five years; when at last, "peace 
in the land" was recorded. It may only be a coin- 
cidence but Amos, who was a contemporary, made 
reference to an eclipse in his prophecies: "I will 
cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken 
the earth in the clear day" (Amos 8:9). 

After the death of Jeroboam II, which was during 
the lifetime of the prophet Hosea, the northern 
kingdom became the prey of factions ; and in conse- 
quence became weakened. His son Zachariah 
ruled but six months, and was followed by Shallum. 
The latter reigned one month, when he was assassi- 
nated by Menahem. 

Ashur-dan, king of Assyria, was succeeded by 
Ashur-nirari (753-745), who made several expedi- 



326 Light on the Old Testament 

tions, but not to the West-land. He ruled ten years, 
when Tiglath-pileser III (745-727) came to the 
throne. In the Old Testament he is known also as 
Pul, although in 1 Chronicles 5:26, the writer con- 
sidered Tiglath-pileser and Pul as two persons. For 
many years no Assyrian king by the name of Pul was 
known. The late Professor Schrader had correctly 
argued that Pul and Tiglath-pileser were one and 
the same person. Later, Dr. Pinches was able to 
prove conclusively that this theory was correct. 
He showed that the Babylonian chronicle says: 

In the third year of Ukin-zer,Tiglath-pileser marched 
against Akkad, laid waste Bit-Amukani and took Ukin- 
zer captive. Ukin-z£r reigned three years in Babylon. 
Tiglath-pileser ascended the throne in Babylon. In the 
second year of Tiglath-pileser he died in the month of 
Teteb. 

The Ptolemaic Canon shows that Ukin-zer and 
Pulu (Poros) together ruled five years over Baby- 
lonia. Hence it follows that Pulu and Tiglath- 
pileser are the same. Pulu as a proper name is 
known also in the inscriptions. Whether this was 
an official name the ruler received in Babylonia, 
or whether it was his original name, as is more 
likely, is not known. The question as to how he 
came to the throne also needs more light. He is 
generally supposed to have been a usurper, having 
perhaps been a general in the army. 

He succeeded to the throne at a time when the 
country was in an unsettled state, but he made his 



Assyrian Inscriptions 327 

reign one of the most important in Assyrian history. 
The historical inscriptions recording his annals 
have been handed down in a mutilated condition. 
The events, however, can be arranged in chrono- 
logical order by the help of the Eponym Canon. 
We learn that his first efforts were directed against 
Babylonia, Chaldea, and Armenia. Nabonassar 
had been the acknowledged king of Babylon, but 
now Tiglath-pileser assumed the ancient title of the 
entire country, including Shumer and Akkad. He 
next brought into subjection the rulers of Ararat, 
Arpad, etc. About this time he began to make 
trouble for Syria and North Phoenicia. The Canon 
for 738 B. C. records the brief statement: ''He 
captured the city of Kullanu. This is supposed to 
have been in the vicinity of Hamath, which would 
make it identical with Calno of Isaiah 10:9. The 
name of Azariah is mentioned four times in the 
inscription, but unfortunately, owing to its frag- 
mentary condition, little can be gathered from the 
references. It would seem that Judah had formed 
an alliance with Hamath, in order that they might 
mutually protect themselves against the advances 
of the Assyrians. While those in league with 
Judah seem to have suffered, Azariah himself did 
not become involved. In an inscription, Tiglath- 
pileser mentions Azariah as follows : 

Nineteen districts of the city of Hamath, together 
with the towns of their environs along the coast of the 
sea of the setting sun, who in sin and wickedness they 



328 Light on the Old Testament 

(the people) took up for Azrijau (Azariah), to the' 
boundary of Assyria I added. My commander-in-chief 
as governor I set over them. 

Besides the nineteen places which were captured, 
a long list of kings is mentioned as having paid 




The biblical Tiglath-pileser or Pul standing before a besieged city. 

tribute, among whom are: " Rasunnu (Rezin, 2 Kings 
16:5) of Damascus, Menfyimme (Menahem) of the 
city of the Samarians, and Hirummu (Hirom) of the 
city of the Tyrians. " In 2 Kings 1 5 : 1 9, we learn that 



Assyrian Inscriptions 329 

1 ' there came against the land Pul, the king of Assyria ; 
and Menahem gave to Pul one thousand talents, 
etc. ' ' Neither the Bible nor the inscriptions say that 
Tiglath-pileser fought with Menahem. In the former, 
the silver is paid "to confirm the kingdom in his 
hand," whereupon " the king of Assyria turned back 
and stayed not there in the land" (2 Kings 15 : 20). 
In the inscriptions Menahem is only mentioned as 
having paid tribute. 

In 2 Kings 16:5, we learn that Rezin, king of 
Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel, warred with Ahaz, 
and besieged him in Jerusalem. For a season he 
was able to withstand their efforts ; but there being 
those at the capital who were hostile to him, and 
his country having been overrun by the enemy, 
he sought the assistance of Tiglath-pileser, by send- 
ing him presents of gold and silver. The king of 
Assyria readily hearkened unto him, as he doubtless 
saw danger in the organized efforts of Israel and 
Syria; and at the same time he was desirous of 
making Ahaz a vassal. He went up against Damas- 
cus, and- took it; and carried the people captive 
to Kir ; and slew Rezin. 

In the following inscription Tiglath-pileser records 
his treatment of Rezin. 

. . . Like a hind ... he entered the great gate of 
the city. His chiefs alive with my hands I took, and 
upon stakes I caused them to be raised up, and made 
them a show for this land. 45 camps . . . I collected, 
and shut him up like a bird in cage. His plantations, 
. . . which were innumerable I cut down, and did 



330 Light on the Old Testament 

not leave one . . . Hadara, the house of the father 
of Rezin of Damascus, in which he was born, I besieged, 
etc. 

The fact that Rezin eventually lost his life at the 
hands of the Assyrian king must be supplied from 
the Old Testament (2 Kings 16:9), owing to the 
fragmentary condition of his annals. 

In 2 Kings 15: 29, 30, we are informed that "in 
the days of Pekah, king of Israel, came Tiglath- 
pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon; and Abel- 
beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh, and Hazor 
and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; 
and he carried them captive to Assyria. And 
Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against 
Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and 
slew him, and reigned in his stead. " In an inscrip- 
tion Tiglath-pileser records substantially the same 
thing. 

.... the city of Gal-'\ed] (Gilead ?) . . . the 
city of Abilakka (Abel-beth-maacah?) which is of the 
boundary of the land of Beth-Omri (Israel) . . . the 
broad, in its entire extent, to the territory of Assyria I 
annexed; my commander-in-chief as prefect I ap- 
pointed over them. H&nitnu (Hanno) of Gaza, who fled 
before my arms, escaped to the land of Egypt. Gaza I 
captured; its possessions, its treasures, its gods I car- 
ried away . . . and the image of my royalty I erected. 
. . . Beth-Omri (Israel) . . . the whole of its inhab- 
itants its possessions to Assyria I deported. Pekah their 
king they smote. Ausi' (Hoshea) as king, over them I 
appointed. Ten talents of gold, 1,000 talents of silver 
together with their presents I received from them. 



Assyrian Inscriptions 331 

There is a gap between the reference to Israel and 
what follows. The annalist greatly exaggerated the 
results of his campaign if he intended that the state- 
ment, "the whole of the inhabitants of the land of 
Omri, " should refer to Israel. The Old Testament 
mentions the names of the cities and districts whose 
inhabitants were carried by him into captivity ; but 
the capital of "Omri" which was Samaria, is not 
mentioned as being depopulated, either in the inscrip- 
tions or the Old Testament, until later. 

In an inscription belonging to the closing years of 
his reign, he mentions the receiving of tribute not 
only from the kings of northern cities, but also from 
Sanipu, of Beth-Ammon, Salamanu of Moab, Metinti 
of Askelon, Jauhazi (Ahaz) of Judah, Kaush- 
malak of Edom, and Hanunu (Hanno) of Gaza. 
While there is no reference in the Assyrian inscrip- 
tions to explain Tiglath-pileser's movements against 
Israel and Syria, this fact confirms the statement 
(2 Kings 16: 7), that Ahaz sought the assistance of 
Tiglath-pileser in order to free himself from Israel 
and Syria. The inscription recording the tribute 
belongs to one of the succeeding years. 

The voluntary homage paid the Assyrian king, in 
his dire extremity to rid himself of Syria and Israel, 
was the first prominent move towards the downfall 
of Judah. The desired relief was gained, but 
as Assyria was entering upon a long period of sub- 
jugation and oppression, the deliverance which he 
obtained only served to remove a barrier for subse- 



332 Light on the Old Testament 

quent conquest, which meant eventually the over- 
throw of Jerusalem. 

That Ahaz should pay a visit to Tiglath-pileser, 
the mighty conquerer of the West-land, at Damascus, 
as is recorded in 2 Kings 16: 10, seems perfectly 
natural, for he was the master of this entire 
region. 

In the closing years of his life his attention was 
directed to a league formed by the Chaldeans with 
the Arameans, who had designs upon Babylon. 
Tiglath-pileser appeared on the scene; the Chal- 
deans were subdued, and he became the king of 
Babylon, over which he ruled for two years. 

The biblical Shalmaneser IV (727-722) followed 
Tiglath-pileser. He also was an adventurer, as no 
relationship with his predecessors is mentioned. 
Little is known from the inscriptions of his short 
reign of five years, except the brief statements in 
the Babylonian Chronicle and the Eponym Canon. 
The former states: " On the 25th of Tebet, Shal- 
maneser sat on the throne in Assyria. The city 
Shamara'in he destroyed. " Unfortunately, the 
Eponym Canon is mutilated, and in consequence is 
of little value. 

The Old Testament and Josephus furnish addi- 
tional data concerning the reign of this ruler. In 
2 Kings 1 7 : 3-5 , we learn that Shalmaneser came up 
against Hoshea, who "became his servant and gave 
him presents. And the king of Assyria found con- 
spiracy in Hoshea for he had sent messengers to 



Assyrian Inscriptions 333 

So, king of Egypt." Shalmaneser imprisoned him 
and besieged Samaria. Josephus, as well as com- 
mentators in former years, understood the passage, 
"in the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria 
took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria " 
(2 Kings 1 7 : 6) , to refer to Shalmaneser. The inscrip- 
tions of Sargon, the successor of Shalmaneser, defi- 
nitely show that he, or rather his representatives, 
deported Israel in the first year of his reign, in conse- 
quence of which he is "the king of Assyria" who is 
referred to by the Hebrew chronicler. In the 
Eponym Canon, the name Samaria might be sup- 
plied in some of the incomplete lines. The name of 
the city destroyed in the Babylonian Chronicle is 
read by some Sabara'in instead of Samara'in, as the 
characters for ba and ma are almost identical; but 
in view of the fact that in the succeeding reign the 
Hebrew S homer on (Samaria) is written Samerina, 
in the inscriptions, which is nearly the same; and 
because Shalmaneser, while he did not destroy the 
city, laid siege to it, and perhaps destroyed some of 
its outlying districts, there can be little doubt but 
that Samaria is meant. The city, however, did not 
fall until later, as is determined by the inscription 
of Sargon. 

So, of Egypt, or, vocalizing the Hebrew letters, 
differently, and reading Sive, king of Egypt, doubt- 
less refers to Shabaka, the Ethiopian who founded 
the twenty-fifth dynasty. Sargon refers to Sib'e, 
whom he calls the tartan, or commander-in-chief 



334 Light on the Old Testament 

of the Egyptian army. If the Hebrew Seve and the 
Assyrian Sib'e are intended to represent Shabaka, 
then either the Hebrew writer in calling him king, 
anticipated his becoming such, or the Assyrian 
annalist was not aware that he had become king. 

Another adventurer followed Shalmaneser. He 
is known as Sargon II (722-705), which name he 
very likely assumed. He called himself "Sargon 
the Later" in distinction from the name of the illus- 
trious Sargon I, who lived about 3800 B. C. The 
latter's full name, as found in his inscriptions, is 
Shargani-shar-ali: but in all probability it had been 
handed down in a form something like the name 
the usurper assumed. His name is sometimes 
written Shar-ukin, "[a god] has appointed a king" 
and again Shar-kenu ''the legitimate king." Both 
meanings would lead us to suppose that he desired 
to impress his subjects with the legitimacy of his 
appointment as ruler. His adopting a Baby- 
lonian name instead of an Assyrian, as his two 
predecessors had seen fit to do, may have had 
some diplomatic signification. 

With the exception of the reference to Sargon in 
Isaiah 20 : 1 his name was lost to history. It was 
really preserved in the Ptolemaic Canon as Arkeanos, 
but although an initial Sigma, according to a well- 
known law in Greek, sometimes appears as the rough 
breathing, Arkeanos was not identified with Sargon. 

An inscription of Sargon, (722-705), found at 
Nimroud, bears the following: 




One of the two-winged bulls which stood at the entrance to the palace of Sargon 

(see page 14) 



336 Light on the Old Testament 

From the beginning of my sovereignty until the 1 5th 
year of my reign Humbanigash, the Elamite of the city 
Der, I accomplished his defeat. Samerina (Samaria) I 
besieged I captured. 27,290 people, dwelling in it I car- 
ried away. 50 chariots I collected from them and the 




M1«?te!W 



SARGON II (722-705 B.C.) Captor of Samaria. 



rest [of the people] I allowed to retain their possessions. 
My commander-in chief I placed over them, and the trib- 
ute of the former king I placed upon them. Hanno 
king of Gaza, [and] Sib'e the tartan of Egypt advanced 
against me inRapikhi (Rapkia)to make war and battle. I 



Assyrian Inscriptions 337 

accomplished their defeat. Sib'e feared the sound of my 
arms and fled, and his place was not found. Hanno, the 
king of Gaza I took with my hand. The tribute of Pir'u 
king of Egypt, Samse, queen of Aribi (Arabia), It' 
amara of Saba'ai (Sabeans), gold product of the 
mountain, horses [and] camels I received: 

The reference to the subjugation of Humbani- 
gash in the opening lines of this inscription does not 
necessarily mean that an assault upon Elam was 
made as his first act. According to the Babylonian 
Chronicle, this took place in the second year of Sar- 
gon's reign. The first act of his army doubtless was 
the capture of Samaria, and the carrying of the 
children of Israel into captivity; the final drama 
in the history of Israel. Sargon's account of his 
deportation of 27,290 of Samaria's inhabitants is 
supplemented by the biblical record (2 "Kings 17:6) 
which informs us that he "placed them in Halah 
(perhaps near Haran) and by the river Habor (the 
Khabour), and in Gozan, and in the cities of the 
Medes." 

In a text of Sargon parallel to the above this 

statement is added : " I settled there the men of 

countries conquered [by my hand]. " 2 Kings 17 : 24 

is an interesting commentary on this passage. It 

reads: "And the king of Assyria brought men from 

Babylon and from Cuthah (Kutu), and from Avva, 

and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed 

them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children 

of Israel, and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in 

the cities thereof." In a record belonging to the 

22 



338 Light on the Old Testament 

time about seven years later, he says: "The tribes 
of Tamud, Ibadid Marsiman and Khayapa, Arabian 
tribes, inhabitants of the desert, of whom no sage 
or scholar had known, who had never paid tribute to 
any king I smote in the service of Ashur my lord; 
and the rest of them I carried away and settled in 
Samaria." 

The Nimroud inscription above referred to men- 
tions among other cities, Samaria, as being in league 
with Jau-bi'di, who had designs on the throne of 
Hamath. He had the assistance of Sib'u of Egypt 
and Hanno of Gaza. Jau-bi'di was captured and 
flayed alive. It is difficult to understand who is 
meant by Samaria unless the remnants that had 
not been deported, or some of those settled there. 

In another inscription also he mentions people 
of the land of Philistia, Judah (Jaudu), Edom and 
Moab as depending upon "Pir'u king of Egypt a 
prince who could not save them, " in other words, a 
"bruised reed." The inscription is fragmentary 
and does not relate the outcome of this dependence. 

Sennacherib (705-681 B. C.) succeeded his father 
Sargon, who before his death had turned over to 
him the responsibility of keeping under subjection 
the northern Armenian provinces. Sennacherib 
seemed to lack his father's ability in managing the 
heterogeneous elements of which the great nation 
was composed. In military ability he was not 
wanting, but instead of conciliating the vanquished 
and replacing the turbulent, he finally became the 



Assyrian Inscriptions 339 

ruler of a sparsely populated desert; as he not 
only destroyed cities and towns, but he murdered 
the inhabitants. On his accession to the throne, he 
doubtless appreciated the fact that Babylon would 
be difficult to control. He evidently foresaw the 
difficulties which later did arise, and which finally 
resulted in the overthrow of Assyria. In conse- 
quence, from the very beginning he ignored their 
authority, and did not accept titles and honors from 
their priesthood. At this slight, the Babylonians 
became indignant; and proclaimed king over them 
a man of humble origin, Marduk-zakir-shum by 
name. A month later the indefatigable Merodach- 
baladan, who had been defeated by Sargon, appeared 
on the scene. In a sedition which followed, Marduk- 
zakir-shum was killed, and Merodach-baladan was 
once more proclaimed king. He sent an embassy to 
Elam and to Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:12-19), the 
ultimate purpose of which, although the annalist 
supposed it was in connection with his sickness, 
seems to have been to encourage the western states 
to rebel against Assyria. The showing of the treasu- 
ries perhaps implies that Hezkiah indicated to the 
emissaries what his strength in this particular was. 
Sennacherib wasted no time in putting down the 
rebellion in Babylonia. He proceeded to Kish 
where the Chaldean king was entrenched. Mero- 
dach-baladan's army was defeated, and he fled for 
safety. Sennacherib entered the gates of Babylon 
which were thrown open to him, pillaged the royal 




Boundary stone of biblical Merodach-baladan, in wbich he makes a grant of 
certain lands to one of his dignitaries. Above his pointed crown the inscription 
reads : The picture of Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon. 






Assyrian Inscriptions 341 

treasury, and placed Bel-ibni on the throne. In 
his second campaign, Sennacherib invaded the 
country of the Cassites and the Iasubigalleans. In 
his third campaign, he directed his attention to the 
rebellious subjects in the West-land. The Assyrian 
army had not been in Palestine for about ten years. 
The people in consequence felt more or less secure, 
and were anxious to throw off the yoke of Assyria. 
The embassy sent to Jerusalem by Merodach-baladan 
and the uprising in Babylonia, had doubtless suc- 
ceeded in arousing the anti-Assyrian party to re- 
newed activity. Hezekiah had been victorious over 
the Philistines (2 Kings 18:8). In order to with- 
stand sieges in dry seasons a conduit had been built 
(2 Kings 20:20), to bring water within the city 
walls. In view of these circumstances, although 
strongly opposed by the prophet Isaiah, the Egyptian 
party prevailed- upon the king to send gifts (Isa. 
30 : 1-4) to Egypt, seeking the aid of that country. 
Anxious to restore lost prestige in Palestine, the 
desired aid in throwing off the yoke was again 
promised. Whether this rebellious spirit had spread 
to Phoenicia is not known, but at Ekron the elders 
of the city cast Padi, the Assyrian king and vassal 
into irons, and had Hezekiah imprison him in 
Jerusalem. 

To put down the uprising, Sennacherib lost no 
time. He entered the land from the north, and 
first struck at Sidon. In what is known as the 
Taylor cylinder, which was discovered at Nineveh 



342 Light on the Old Testament 

in 1830, together with an inscription on one of the 
colossal bulls which Layard brought from Kun- 
yunjik, besides a duplicate, we have Sennacherib's 
own account of this invasion. 

In my third campaign I went to the land of the 
Hittites. Luli, king of Zidon, the fear of the splendor of 
my lordship overwhelmed him, and he fled to a distant 
place in the midst of the sea (variant Cyprus). His 
land I subdued. Great Zidon (Josh. 19:28), Little Zidon 
Bit-Zitti, Sarepta (1 Kings 17:9), Makhalliba, Hosah 
(Josh. 19: 29), Achzib (Judg. 1:31), Accho (Judg. 1:31), 
his mighty cities, fortresses, pasture and irrigated 
lands, houses of his assistance, the dreadfulness of the 
arms of Ashur, my lord, overwhelmed them, and they 
submitted unto me. Ethbaal (1 Kings 16:31) upon the 
royal throne I placed over them, and a perpetual 
yearly payment of the tribute of my lordship I imposed 
upon them. 

As for Menahem of Samsimuruna, Ethbaal of Zidon, 
Abdili'ti of Arvad (Ezek. 27:8), Urumilki of Gebel 
(Ezek. 27:9), Mitinti of Ashdod, Pudu-el of Beth- 
Ammon, Chemosh-nadbi of Moab, Malik-rammu of 
Edom, and all the kings of the West land, rich presents, 
their heavy gifts, for the fourth time brought to me, 
and kissed my feet. 

The humiliation of Zidka is then recorded, as well 
as the subjugation of his cities. 

And Zidka of Ashkelon, who had not submitted to 
my yoke, his ancestor's gods, himself, his wife, his sons, 
his daughters, his brothers, the seed of his father's 
house I tore away and carried to Assyria. Sharludari, 
the son of Rukibtu, their former king, I placed over the 
people of Ashkelon. I put upon them the giving of trib- 
ute, presents for my lordship; and he shall draw my 
yoke. 



Assyrian Inscriptions 343 

In the course of my campaign Beth-Dagan (Josh. 
15:41), Joppa, Beni-berek (Joshua 19:45) (and) 
Azuru, the cities of Zidka, which had quickly thrown 
themselves at my feet, I besieged I conquered, their 
spoil I carried away. 

The kings of Egypt with their armies, are sum- 
moned, but in front of Eltekeh (Josh. 19:44) Sen- 
nacherib accomplished their defeat. Some think 
that the word translated Egypt, which is Musri, 
means rather Northwest Arabia. 

The governors, chiefs and people of Ekron, who 
threw into chains Padi a lord of the law and oath of 
Assyria, and had given him to Hezekiah of the land 
of the Jews, and who as an enemy shut him up in prison, 
feared in their hearts, and called forth the kings of 
Egypt, warriors, bowmen, chariots, horses of the king 
of Melukha, a force without number; and they came 
to their help. In the vicinity of Eltekeh they set a line 
of battle before me. They asked their weapons [to 
decide]. By the assistance of Ashur, my lord, I fought 
with them, and I accomplished their defeat. The chief 
of the chariots and the sons of the king of Egypt 
together with the chief of the chariots of the king 
of Melukha in the midst of the battle I took alive with 
my hands. Eltekeh, Tamna I besieged, I took I carried 
away their spoil. 

To Ekron I rode, and the governors [and] princes 
who had transgressed I killed, and I bound their 
corpses upon stakes around the city. The inhabitants 
of the city who had done sin and evil I reckoned as spoil. 
The rest of them who had not committed sin and 
ignominious acts, whose sin they did not have I pro- 
nounced their amnesty. Padi, their king from Jeru- 
salem I brought out and I caused to enter upon the 
throne of lordship over them. The tribute of my lord- 
ship I placed upon them. 



344 Light on the Old Testament 

As regards Hezekiah, the Judean, who did not sub- 
mit to my yoke , forty-six of his mighty cities, strong- 
holds, together with innumerable small places of their 
environs, by the battering of rams and the assault of 
the siege engines, ... I besieged, I conquered, 
200,1 50 people, small and large, male and female, horses, 
mules, asses, camels, oxen and sheep without number, 
from their midst I carried out - and reckoned as booty. 
Himself (that is Hezekiah), like a bird in a cage in 
Jerusalem his royal city I penned him. Trenches 
against him I threw up, and those coming from the 
gate of their city I forcibly turned back. His cities 
which I had sacked, I cut off from the country, and I 
gave them to Mitinti of Ashdod, Padi, king of Ekron 
and Tsil-Baal, king of Gaza, thus reducing his territory. 
In addition to the former tax, to pay yearly, I 
added a tribute of subjection to my royalty, I placed 
upon them. Himself Hezekiah, the fear of the splendor 
of my lordship overwhelmed him. The courage of the 
Arabians and his faithful soldiers whom he had brought 
in for the defense of Jerusalem, his royal city, failed. To- 
gether with 30 talents of gold and 800 talents of silver, 
precious stones, . . . his daughters, women of his 
palace, ... to Nineveh, my royal city, I caused 
to be brought after me ; he sent his ambassador to offer 
tribute and perform homage. 

This is perhaps the most remarkable parallel 
account to the Old Testament records which is 
found in the Assyrian inscriptions. With the Hebrew 
story of Sennacherib's invasion as recorded in Isaiah 
36: 1 ff. and 2 Kings 18: 13 ff. all biblical students 
are familiar. Sennacherib's account naturally dif- 
fers considerably from it, as it is written from an 
altogether different standpoint. But it corroborates 
many details, as well as supplements and gives a 




Cylinder of Sennacherib. The inscription at the top of the column begins : 
" To Ekron I rode," (see p. 343). 



346 Light on the Old Testament 

clearer view of the whole situation. That the Assyr- 
ian account should record the exact amount of 
gold paid by Hezekiah, namely thirty talents, is 
remarkable. 

In view of the fact that Josephus, who quotes 
from Berosus, makes the attack upon Jerusalem 
to have taken place on his return from Egypt after 
he had spent some time there besieging Pelusium, 
some scholars hold that Sennacherib made two 
invasions to this region, and that the one immedi- 
ately follows the other in the Old Testament. That 
on the former he received the tribute ; and that the 
ignominious defeat took place on the latter, which 
belongs to the last eight years of his life, i.e., after 
the period covered by the Taylor cylinder. The fact 
is, it looks highly probable if Berosus is right in 
speaking of a battle at Pelusium, and also that 
Sennacherib lived only" a little while" after his 
disastrous defeat, which the Old Testament also 
seems to imply, although no Assyrian records thus 
far bear out the theory. 

Another argument can be found in the fact 
that the annals of Sennacherib do not mention 
Lachish, although he had the capture of the city 
depicted on a huge bas-relief. That he gloried in 
this event seems reasonable to suppose. That it 
should not be mentioned in his annals if it took 
place on his third campaign, seems somewhat diffi- 
cult to understand. In 2 Kings 19:9, Tirhakah is 
mentioned as the king of Ethiopia with whom 



Assyrian Inscriptions 347 

Sennacherib came into conflict. If there was but one 
invasion, the Hebrew annalist anticipated his title ; 
for although in the early period of Sennacherib's 
reign he was in charge of the Egyptian forces, 
Shabaka, his uncle, was the reigning Pharaoh. 

If it is insisted upon that there was but one inva- 
sion of the West-land the fact that no reference is 
made to the ignominious defeat of Sennacherib's 
army by night would occasion no difficulty. Such 
would be unlooked for in Assyrian annals. Only 
that is mentioned which is calculated to magnify 
the great achievements of the army and the valor 
of the king. But instead of it there are sonorous 
phrases concerning what was successful, and what is 
mentioned which was not so, is couched in words to 
give the impression that the results were the same. 
The fact that he did not capture Jerusalem, doubt- 
less the leadingxity in the revolt, but instead simply 
beleaguered it, and penned up Hezekiah in the city, 
like a bird in a cage, shows conclusively that the 
campaign did not terminate in as successful a 
manner as the annalist would have his readers infer. 
The pillaging of his suburbs and cutting off his 
territory was not such an important feat. 

The Hebrew account, on the other hand, while it 
enlarges upon the miraculous deliverance of the 
city, which explains why Sennacherib never made 
a second attempt, fearing the God of the Hebrews, 
at the same time mentions the fact that Hezekiah 
had confessed that he had offended, and that he had 



348 Light on the Old Testament 

paid immense sums to buy off Sennacherib. In 
this connection Herodotus says that when the Assy- 
rians were encamped before the Egyptians at 
Pelusium within sight of the enemy, an army of 
field-mice destroyed the bowstrings, etc., of the 
Assyrian army, which resulted in their being routed, 
and many slain. w Josephus, quoting from Berosus, 
in explaining the disastrous defeat, relates how God 
had sent a pestilential distemper upon Sennacherib's 
army, which was under the Rabshakeh. In other 
words, Egyptians as well as Jews, as is shown by 
the echoes of the calamity, rejoiced in the victory. 
On his return to Nineveh Sennacherib had carved 
a series of slabs representing in bas-relief his assault 
and capture of the city of Lachish. This fact is not 
mentioned in the Old Testament, although Sen- 
nacherib is said to have been at Lachish when his 
officials called upon Hezekiah at Jerusalem. In one 
portion of the relief, the walls of the city are repre- 
sented, upon which are bowmen, slingers, and those 
who hurled lighted torches upon the portable sheds 
in which the battering rams were worked. From 
the entrance of the city near the center, captives 
are seen issuing forth, and soldiers carrying impaled 
bodies of men. The steps and guard-house of the 
great gate of this period were discovered in the 
excavations by Bliss at Lachish. Sennacherib's 
assiy is represented as being on the slope of the hill 
with engines, spearmen, bowmen, and slingers. 
Ladders for scaling the wall are seen. On the top 



350 Light on the Old Testament 

of each engine a man is seen, pouring water over 
its roof, in order to prevent it from catching fire 
from the burning brands. 

In another portion of the slab Sennacherib had 




One of a series of sculptured slabs, showing Sennacherib seated upon his throne 
before the city of Lachish, receiving tribute. 

himself depicted in a great throne chair, with bow 
and arrow in his hand. Before him are his officials, 
perhaps represented as reporting upon the results of 
the attack. Over them is the inscription: "Sen- 
nacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, sat on 



Assyrian Inscriptions 351 

a throne-chair and caused the spoil of Lachish to 
pass before him." Behind these officials are cap- 
tives with pronounced Hebrew features. Behind 
the victorious king stand eunuchs with ' ' fly flaps ; ' ' 
behind these is his tent. Over it an inscription 
reads: "Tent of Sennacherib king of Assyria." 
Below is the king's chariot, and soldiers killing 
captives. . 

According to the inscriptions only one son is 
implicated in the parricide which brought this 
reign to an end, although it is quite possible that 
another was involved, as is recorded in the Old 
Testament, which says, that Sennacherib was 
assassinated by his two sons Adrammelech and 
Sharezer (Isa. 37 : 38). In the Babylonian Chronicle 
the following occurs : 

On the 20th of Tebet, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, 
was killed by his son in a rebellion. For [23] years 
Sennacherib had reigned over the kingdom of Assyria. 
From the 20th of Tebet until the 2nd of Adar there was" 
an insurrection in Assyria. On the 8th of Sivan Esar- 
haddon, his son sat on the throne. 

Esarhaddon (681-668) accomplished what his 
father and Sargon had failed to do, namely defeat 
Egypt and make it an Assyrian province. He felt 
that the conquest of the land and the humiliation of 
the king was the only possible remedy for the con- 
stant interference of Egypt with Assyria's control 
of Palestine and Syria. His first attempt, in 673 B. C, 
was unsuccessful. Seven years later he invested 



352 Light on the Old Testament 

Tyre whose king, Baal, had identified himself with 
Tirhakah. The Egyptian army was defeated and 
the king escaped to Memphis. In returning from 
Egypt, when his army reached the Nahr el-kelb 
along the coast-road, he had cut in the rocks beside 
the triumphal stele of Rameses II, his own, in which 
he recounted his achievements. Also, on a large 
triumphal stele which he erected at Zinjirli, he 
had himself represented in colossal size, while be- 
fore him in diminutive form is Tirhakah (2 Kings 
19:9), who is identified from his negroid features; 
and also Baal of Tyre. They have rings through 
their lips, to which cords are attached. These 
Esarhaddon with great complacency holds in his 
left hand, while he holds a cup near his mouth 
with the other. In the inscription, which is in the 
Berlin Museum, he says : 



Tarqu, the king of Egypt and Kush from Iskhupri 
as far as Memphis, his royal city, a march of fifteen 
days, I smote his warriors in great numbers. Himself 
I attacked five times with the point of the spear in a 
mortal combat. Memphis, his royal city I besieged for 
half a day; I took it, I laid it waste, I burnt it with fire. 
His consort, his other concubines, Ushanakhuru his son 
and the rest of his sons and daughters, his possessions, 
his treasuries, his horses, his oxen, his flocks without 
number, I carried away to Assyria. The root of Kush 
I tore up out of Egypt, and not one of the least did I 
permit to return. Over the whole of Egypt I placed 
afresh kings, governors, prefects, officials, overseers, 
regents. The tribute of my sovereignty, [to be paid] 
yearly without fail, I imposed upon them. 




Esarhaddon holding biblical Tirhakah, king of Egypt and Baal, king of Tyre 

with thongs passing through their lips. 

23 



354 Light on the Old Testament 

Esarhaddon does not mention in his inscriptions 
that he took Manasseh to Assyria, but he does say 
that when he was about to build a new palace he 
caused twenty-two kings of the land of the Hittites, 
along the sea coast, and the islands to furnish him 
with building material, among whom was Manasseh : 

I filled up the platform. I mustered the kings of 
the Hittite land and across the sea. Ba'lu king of 
Tyre, Menase (Manasseh), king of the city Jaudu 
(Judah) Qaush-gabri king of Edon. Musuri king of 
Moab, Tsil-Bel king of Gaza, Metinti king of Ashkelon, 
Ikasamsu king of Ekron, Milki-ashapa, king of Gebel, 
Matan-Bel, king of Arvad, Abi-Bel, King of the Sam- 
simuruna, Budu-ilu, king of the city Beth-Ammon, 
Akhi-Milki, king of Ashdod, 12 kings of the sea coast. 
Ekishtura, king of the city of Idalion, Pilagura king 
of Kitrus, Kisu king of Sillua, Ituandar, king of the 
city Paphos, Eresu, king of Sillu, Damasu king of 
Kurium; Atmezu king of Tamassus; Damusi king of 
Qarti-khadasti, Unasagusu, king of Lidir, Butsusu king 
of Nuria, 10 kings of the land of Cyprus within the 
sea; altogether 22 kings of the land of the Hittites the 
sea coast and midst of the sea, all of them, etc. 

Esarhaddon met his death on the road to Egypt, 
intending to reconquer his vassals who had rebelled, 
and follow up his former victories. To him and his 
son is due the credit for resuscitating Babylon, 
which his father had endeavored to obliterate. 
At Nippur also his work is manifested by inscribed 
bricks bearing his name. In consequence of this 
interest in the land there was no Babylonian revolt 
during his reign. He was succeeded by his two 




Ashurbanipal depicted on a stone votive stele as the high priest or canephorus. 
The inscription records his pious acts such as rebuilding temples. 



->. 



356 Light on the Old Testament 

sons, Ashurbanipal ruling Assyria and Shamash- 
shum-ukin, Babylonia. 

Ashurbanipal (668-626) is generally believed to 
be " the great and noble " Asnapper, Ezra 4 : 10, who 
settled in Samaria the Dinaites, Apharsathchites, 
Tarpelites, Apharsites, Archevites, Babylonians, Shu- 
shanchites, Dehaites, Elamites, and men of other 
nations. In a list of twenty tributary kings corre- 
sponding to that of Esarhaddon, Manasseh (written 
Minse) of the land of Judah is again mentioned. 
In 2 Chronicles 33 : 11 ff. we are informed that the 
captains of the host of the king of Assyria took 
Manasseh with hooks and bound him with fetters, 
and carried him to Babylon. The king was either 
Esarhaddon or Ashurbanipal. If the former, the 
triumphal stele described above becomes especially 
interesting. Later, because of his repentance, Manas- 
seh was restored unto his kingdom. It is interesting 
to note in the inscriptions that Ashurbanipal ac- 
corded similar treatment to Necho, the vassal king 
of Memphis and Sais, who had joined Tirhakah in 
his revolt against Assyria. He had been brought 
to Nineveh bound in chains ; but having gained the 
confidence of Ashurbanipal he was sent back to 
Egypt with marks of special favor, and reinstated 
upon his throne. Manasseh' s bondage and treat- 
ment, which is recorded only in the book of Chron- 
icles, is thus paralleled by the experience of another 
subject king. 

The words uttered by the prophet Nahum in his 




o 

in 

a 
o 
v 



a 

a3 



G 



a 

w 



358 Light on the Old Testament 

prediction concerning the downfall of Nineveh, 
when he said," Art thou, Nineveh better than No 
Amon" finds an interesting explanation in the in- 
scription of AshurbanipaL No, meaning ''city," is 
the name of Thebes, while Amon (or Amen) was the 
chief god worshiped in that city. Tirhakah had 
been conquered by Esarhaddon. He advanced 
against the rulers appointed by Assyria and took 
possession of Memphis. Ashurbanipal went to 
Egypt to suppress the insurrection. Tirhakah's 
forces were defeated. He fled by ship to Thebes 
(Ni'i y " No "), which city Ashurbanipal took. Shortly 
afterwards Urd-amani succeeded Tarqu. Ashur- 
banipal again entered Egypt. But when the king 
"saw the onslaught of my mighty battle, he left Ni'i 
(No) and fled to Kipqip. This city (i.e. No) in its 
entirety, in reliance upon Ashur and Ishtar my 
hands conquered." In other words, the rapacious 
Assyrians spoiled the city. It is this to which the 
prophet refers (Nahum 3:8). 

Several short reigns followed Ashurbanipal in 
the twenty remaining years of Assyrian rule, namely 
that of Ashur-etil-ilani, Sin-shum-lishir and Sin- 
shar-ishkun. But Nineveh at last met her doom. 
Nabopolassar, the Chaldean ruler of Babylonia, 
made an alliance with the Umman-Manda or Medes, 
and Sennacherib's destruction of Babylon was 
avenged. The city was razed to the ground, never 
to be rebuilt, and its treasures were carried away. 
The Medes took possession of Northern Assyria and 



360 Light on the Old Testament 

the Armenia vassal states ; Babylonia took Southern 
Assyria and the title to the West-lands including 
Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. 

" Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy 
worthies are at rest : thy people are scattered upon 
the mountains, and there is none to gather them. 
There is no assuaging of thy hurt; thy wound is 
grievous; all that hear the bruit of thee clap the 
hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy 
wickedness passed continually? " (Nahum 3 : 18, 19.) 



XIV 

THE NEO-BABYLONIAN HISTORICAL 
INSCRIPTIONS 

The time had arrived for the supremacy of the 
valley to change hands. The coalition of the Medes 
and Babylonians had secured their independence 
from Assyria. Nabopolassar, who was of Chaldean 
origin in all probability, had been installed as 
viceroy by the Assyrian king Ashur-etil-ilani-ukin, 
and was continued in that position by his successor 
Sin-shar-ishkun, the last king of Assyria. He made 
an alliance with the Medes, strengthening it by the 
marrige of his son Nebuchadrezzar to the daughter 
of Astyages, the Median king. 

Necho II succeeded to the throne of Egypt about 
the time Assyria was near its end. He constructed 
a war fleet for the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. 
He saw an opportunity to establish Egyptian control 
over Palestine and Syria. (2 Kings 23 : 29-30.) He 
advanced with his army to the plain of Megiddo, 
where Josiah with an inferior force recklessly threw 
himself against him. Josiah was defeated and 
mortally wounded. With this stroke Necho was 
able to capture the entire land ; and he moved north 
as far as Riblah, in the land of Hamath. 

361 



362 Light on the Old Testament 

Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, was chosen king; 
but Necho sent him a prisoner to Egypt. Eliakim 
his brother, who assumed Jehoiakim as his throne 
name, was appointed ruler. A tribute of one hun- 
dred talents of silver and one talent of gold was 
imposed upon him. (2 Kings 23:31-35). But the 
fall of Nineveh gave the vigorous Babylonians the 
title to this land; and Necho 's plans were interfered 
with. Nabopolassar despatched his son Nebu- 
chadrezzar against the Egyptians, whom he defeated 
at the battle of Carchemish on the Euphrates; and 
the coveted territory was again wrested from Egypt. 
The news of his father's death, however, prevented 
Nebuchadrezzar from following up his victory. He 
made a hurried march across the Syrian desert, 
and on reaching Babylon was proclaimed king. 

Five years later he turned his attention to the 
West-land. The princes readily submitted to their 
new master. "And the king of Egypt came not 
again any more out of his land, for the king of 
Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto 
the river of Euphrates all that pertained to the King 
of Egypt." (2 Kings 24:7). "Jehoiakim became 
his (i.e. Nebuchadrezzar's) servant three years: 
then he turned and rebelled against him" (2 Kings 
24: 1). 

In 2 Chronicles 36 : 6, it is recorded that Nebuchad- 
rezzar bound him in fetters and carried him to 
Babylon, and Jehoiachin reigned in his stead. After 
a short reign of three months he had Nebuchad- 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 363 

rezzar beleaguering Jerusalem. Jehoiachin, and his 
mother, the princes and officers threw themselves 
on the mercy of the conquerer. He deported them, 




Inscribed brick of Nebuchadrezzar with stamp in Aramaic. Inscription 
reads: Nebuchadrezzar, king- of Babylon, the restorer of Esagila and Ezida, the 
first son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon. 

together with all the mighty men of valor, making 
ten thousand captives, and all the treasures of the 
temple and palace. Those that he allowed to remain 



364 Light on the Old Testament 

were, "the poorest sort of the people of the land." 
Mattaniah, whose name was changed to Zedekiah, 
was placed upon the throne. Again Egypt made 
overtures, and promised assistance to the king if he 
would renounce Babylonia. In the ninth year of 
Zedekiah's reign, Nebuchadrezzar laid siege once 
more to Jerusalem, as the king had revolted. This 
event coincides with the accession of Pharaoh 
Hophra, who marched to the assistance of his con- 
federate. The Babylonians raised the siege long 
enough to punish the Egyptians, who returned to 
their country (Jer. 37 : 5 ff). In two years, after a 
stubborn resistance, the city fell, and the king who 
had escaped by night from the city was captured. 
The faithless vassal was taken to Nebuchadrezzar 
at Riblah, where his son was killed before his eyes, 
after which he was blinded, and sent to Babylon in 
fetters. (2 Kings 25:6 f.). A second deportation 
followed, when the walls of Jerusalem were broken 
down. Over the remnant that remained, which 
was composed of the poorest classes, Gedaliah was 
appointed governor. Several months later he was 
murdered by his own countrymen, who then fled 
to Egypt. 

A good many lengthy records known as building 
inscriptions have been found belonging to Nebu- 
chadrezzar, but no historical inscriptions corre- 
sponding to the annals of the Assyrian kings. It 
is not improbable that some day these will be found. 
In consequence, little or no light from Babylonian 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 



365 



sources has been thrown upon the situation. It is 
interesting, however, to note that while these rec- 
ords j make no reference to his political activity, 
they represent him to be a man in every respect 
similar to the way he is character- 
ized in the Old Testament. In the 
first place, he was a great builder. 
He built the two great walls of 

the city, called 
Imgur-Bel and 
Nimitti-Bel. He 
built immense 
quays in the 
banks of the 
Euphrates, be- 
sides developing 
otherwise the 
facilities for 
handling the 
commerce. He 
dug wide moats 
about the walls, 
so that it was 
as if the sea surrounded the city. The great 
procession street between the temple Esagila in 
Babylon and Ezida in Borsippa, was elevated 
above the houses of the people, and greatly beau- 
tified. This wide street was called Aiburshabu 
("May the enemy not prevail"). It was enclosed 
by two walls, which were beautified with glazed 




A king putting out the eyes of a prisoner. 




£> 

"3 

C 

o 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 367 

tiles 1 in which lions, life size, were represented in 
colors. These were enclosed in borders of rosettes. 
The streets were paved with stone slabs which con- 
tained a brief inscription concerning the builder. 
It was on this street which led from the most sacred 





God Marduk (Merodach). God Ramman (Addu). 

(Found at Babylon.) 

part of the temple through the city across the 
Euphrates to the other temple, that on New Year's 
day, Marduk (Merodach) was taken on a visit to 

iKoldeway, the director of the excavations at Babylon, found 
enough fragments of these tiles to reconstruct a complete figure 
of one of the lions, which is given in the illustration on opposite 
page. 



368 Light on the Old Testament 

his son Nabu (Nebo), the patron deity of Borsippa. 
The latter accompanied the former back to his 
shrine. 

Nebuchadrezzar also built the palace of his father, 
and in addition erected another adjoining it. The 
temple of Marduk, as well as the temples in Borsippa 
and Sippara, were rebuilt and adorned. These and 
many other important structures, for example the 
hanging gardens, were built in Babylon. With the 




Inscribed cylinder of (biblical) Nebuchadrezzar referring to his restoration of the 
Tower of Babel and the building of the edifices in Babylon. 

exception of a fragment of a bas-relief, which is 
supposed to represent the gardens, nothing has been 
found in the sections of the city excavated to prove 
that they existed. We are dependent for our knowl- 
edge of them upon the Greek historian. For millen- 
niums the bricks used in the construction of Nebu- 
chadrezzar's buildings, which bore his name and 
titles, have been used by builders in the neighboring 
cities. Babylon has been a veritable brick quarry. 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 369 

In these cities can be found in great numbers bricks 
which bear the name of the famous builder, many of 
which had been used in his restoration of the Tower 
of Babel (see page 102), as well as the temple walls 
and palaces of the city. 

Babylon of this age was largely the creation of 
Nebuchadrezzar. Sennacherib endeavored to annihi- 
late it, but Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal and others 
rebuilt it. Nebuchadrezzar, however, laid out the 
city on a scale unknown before and since his 
day. As a builder he will be renowned until the 
end of time. All this gives a realistic significance 
to the passage in Daniel (4: 30) : " Is not this great 
Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling- 
place by the might of my power and for the glory 
of my majesty?" 

Nebuchadrezzar was not only a great builder but 

an intensely religious man, as is indicated not only 

by his inscriptions, but by the Old Testament as well. 

Consider, for instance a prayer which he offered 

to his god Marduk: "O, eternal Sovereign, Lord of 

everything that exists! As it seemeth good unto 

thee direct the name of the king, whom thou lovest, 

whose name thou hast called. Lead him in the 

right path. I am the prince, who is obedient unto 

thee, the creature of the land. Thou hast created 

me; the governing of mankind thou hast entrusted 

to me. According to thy grace, O Lord, which thou 

hast bestowed upon all mankind, cause me to love 

thy sublime dominion. The fear of thy god-head 

24 



370 Light on the Old Testament 

divinity implant in my heart; yea, grant unto me 
whatsoever seemeth good unto thee, O thou who 
hast created my lif e. ' ' If Jahweh had been addressed 
in this prayer it could have been used by any devout 
Jew. 

His works were prompted by a religious senti- 
ment. From the records which are extant, we do 
not get the idea that he considered the chief occupa- 




Contract tablet dated in the reign of Evil-Merodach with reference note written 

in Aramaic. 

tion of a monarch to be that of conquest and domi- 
nation. While he deported people to Babylonia, it 
was because no other policy seemed to obtain. There 
are no indications of intolerant despotism. His 
subjects were not ravaged; but on the contrary, 
there seems to have been a disposition to be generous 
towards them, and to improve their condition. 

Evil-Merodach (562-559 B. C), his son, who is 
mentioned in the Old Testament as improving the 
condition of Jehoiachin in the thirty-seventh year 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 371 

of his captivity (2 Kings 25: 28 ff), followed Nebu- 
chadrezzar, and ruled two years. Berosus, who 
lived early in the third century, says, "he governed 
public affairs lawlessly and extravagantly." In all 
probability he was easy going and mild. He was 
slain in a revolt which was headed by his brother- 
in-law, Nergal-sharezer (559-555 B. C), who suc- 
ceeded him. It is thought that he is the same who 
is mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah (39:3), as 
being at the capture of Jerusalem at the close of 
Zedekiah's reign. Four years later his young son 
Labashi-Marduk ascended the throne, but he was 
murdered nine months later by a body of conspira- 
tors, who chose as his successor Nabonidus, the 
father of Belshazzar. 

Nabonidus (555-538 B. C.) had been a general of 
the army during the reigns of several of his 
predecessors. It is quite likely that he was one 
of the chief intriguers who caused the death of 
the former king. According to the Babylonian 
Chronicle, or the Annals of Nabonidus, we learn a 
few important facts concerning him, and his son 
Bel-shar-usur, the biblical Belshazzar. The latter 
had been regarded as a mythical personage until 
the discovery of tablets mentioning him as "son 
of the king. ' ' Moreover, he seems to have taken 
a prominent part in governmental affairs, at least 
in connection with the army, as is indicated in the 
Chronicle. 

This valuable record unfortunately is only partly 



372 Light on the Old Testament 

preserved. In the seventh year we learn that the 
" king was in Tema ; the son of the king (Belshazzar), 
the princes and the army were in Accad. " In con- 
sequence, on New Year's day when the great festival 
called akitu was celebrated, the king "to Babylon 
did not go; Nebo to Babylon did not go; Bel did 
not go forth ; the akitu was omitted. " Their absence 
interfered with the annual procession of the gods 




Cylinder of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, containing a prayer for his son 

Belshazzar. 



on the great street Aibur-shabu, between the temple 
Esagila and Ezida, as it was necessary for the king 
to head the procession. Sacrifices, however, were 
offered in the temples. In the ninth year the same 
state of affairs seems to have existed. During this 
year the king's mother died. The official period of 
mourning for her by the people is mentioned in the 
Chronicle. In the tenth and eleventh years, the 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 373 

feast was also omitted, due to the absence of the 
king, his son, and the nobles. The fragmentary 
Chronicle next refers to the seventeenth and last 
year of his rule. 

It was not because Nabonidus was an irreligious 
man that he neglected to be in Babylon on these 
occasions, so that the festivals could be observed; 
for we learn from his inscriptions that his pious 
acts such as building and restoring temples, etc., 
were especially numerous. It does seem, however, 
that he was more interested in historical or anti- 
quarian investigations than he was in the religious 
feasts. He seems to have delighted in the search 
for knowledge. In restoring temples he usually 
excavated to their foundations, in order to ascer- 
tain who had laid them. He made diligent search 
for the ancient records that had been deposited in 
the foundations. In recording his own labors on 
cylinders, he usually made reference to what he 
had learned in reading these inscriptions, mention- 
ing at the same time the condition in which he 
had found them, as well as something about the 
builder. 

Evidently the priests and the people were not- 
interested in his researches, and perhaps even looked 
with disfavor upon the excavations which were 
necessary to ascertain the desired data. They were 
especially displeased because he neglected to attend 
the feasts. In consequence, they readily welcomed a 
change of affairs, and as a result the throne passed 



374 Light on the Old Testament 

from the Babylonians to the Achaemenians. 
Chronicle for the seventeenth year reads : 



The 



. Nebo from Borsippa to go forth . . . 

the king entered the temple E-dur-kalamma. In the 

month . . . and the lower sea a revolt 

Bel eame out ; the akitu festival according to the custom 

. . the gods of Marad, Zagaga and the gods of 






;<v-<rj&»i-j!Hja:^^taJHTj£j«c^tiEK-<nHii&-cc? 
im&m&m t *m: tei£ new- &*& ff ttfr-aMjmsuijfciEj t- 

f^*ra4-wn»i-Mi>-BK»HHrc:u<r^T'«ifcHai'- 
w?»trti^t3WC!TBT4-t=8jK.«rv^i^.a— i 

TH— S^I ft- Bff W<5JH^THlTi 

Chronicle recording the death of Belshazzar. 





Kish, Beltis and the gods of Kharsagkalamma entered 
Babylon. Unto the end of Elul, the gods of Borsippa, 
Cutha and Sippara did not enter. In the month Tam- 
muz, Cyrus when he made battle in Kesh (Opis), on 
the banks of the river Zalzallat, with the soldiers of 
Accad, conquered the inhabitants of Accad. When 
they assembled, the people were killed. On the 14th, 
Sippara was taken without a battle. Nabonidus fled. 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 375 

On the 1 6th, Gobryas, the governor of the land of 
Gutium, and the soldiers of Cyrus entered Babylon 
without a battle. Later Nabonidus was captured be- 
cause he tarried in Babylon. To the end of the month 
the shield bearers of Gutium guarded the gates of 
Esagila. No arms of any kind were taken into Esagila 
or into the shrines ; nor was the standard carried in. 
On the third day of Marchesvan Cyrus entered Babylon. 
Difficulties were cleared ( ?) Peace was established for 
the city. Cyrus proclaimed peace to all Babylonia and 
from the month Kislev unto Adar the gods of Accad 
whom Nabonidus had brought to Babylon returned 
to their cities. In Marchesvan, by night, on the nth, 
Gobryas in . . . and the son of the king was killed. 
From the 27th of Adar, until the 3rd of Nisan there 
was lamentation in Accad. All the people bowed 
their heads. On the 4th day Cambyses, the son of 
Cyrus, went to Eshapakalamma summu, etc. 



We learn from the Chronicle that Cyrus, king of 
Anshan and Persia which he had also conquered, 
began his conquest of Babylonia at Opis. This 
was in the year 538 B. C. He captured Sippara 
without fighting. Two days later the gates of Baby- 
lon were thrown open to his army under Gobryas, 
and Nabonidus was imprisoned. About three and 
a half months later Cyrus entered the city, and 
proclaimed peace to the inhabitants. A week later 
Gobryas entered . . . (tablet is injured), and 
Belshazzar, the son of the king, was slain. 

In view of this Chronicle, it is now generally 
asserted that Herodotus' description of the strategy 
by which Babylon was taken, namely, by turning the 
waters of the Euphrates, which enabled the army 



376 Light on the Old Testament 

to gain entrance by passing beneath the arches 
that spanned the river, is to be regarded as nothing 
more than a romance. Further, they say, in dis- 
agreement with the fifth chapter of Daniel, there 
was no violence when the city was captured; Bel- 
shazzar was not king, neither was he or his father 
the son of Nebuchadrezzar. 

While it is not impossible that in some way he 
was connected with the royal house, nothing has 
been revealed to show that any relationship existed 
with the famous builder. Further, it is not likely 
that there was any. In his inscriptions he does not 
claim any connection. He says Marduk had ap- 
pointed him sovereign by reason of his faithfulness. 
His father's name was Nabu-balatsu-iqbi, whom 
he simply calls rubu emqu, ''wise prince." If he 
could have made any claims of royal lineage he would 
have done so. There are other difficulties of a 
historical character in the book, for which no satis- 
factory explanations have as yet been offered, but 
according to what follows, one important difficulty 
disappears; at least the kingship of Belshazzar is 
made quite possible. 

Belshazzar, according to the inscriptions, is not 
known as a king, although it is quite clear that he 
was peculiarly associated with his father in the rule 
of affairs. In the Chronicle the actions of the king, 
his son, and the nobles are usually recorded. Some 
see in this fact an explanation of the promise to 
make Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom, in case 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 377 

he was able to interpret the handwriting on the 
wall ; but the fact must be recognized that Naboni- 
dus was at this time dethroned, and if Belshazzar 
regarded himself king, according to what follows, 
then the rulers in order could not be : Nabonidus, 
Belshazzar, Daniel. 

While the inscriptions do not recognize Belshazzar 
as king, it is not at all impossible that he was re- 
garded as such by a percentage of the Babylonians, 
at least for a short time, and not without legiti- 
mate reasons. Cyrus's army entered Babylon, and 
Nabonidus was imprisoned. But how about Bel- 
shazzar, the king's son, who figured so prominently 
in governmental affairs? Three and a half months 
later Cyrus enters the city, when doubtless he is ac- 
knowledged to be the king. A week later the army 
under Gobryas entered a certain place, and Bel- 
shazzar is slain. The feast of Belshazzar could have 
taken place in Borsippa or any other city; i.e. 
it did not take place necessarily in Babylon. Com- 
mentators have fixed this event in that city, although 
the city is not mentioned in the fifth chapter of 
Daniel. It is, however, not unlikely that it did 
take place right in the city of Babylon. We know 
enough about the city and its buildings, at the present 
time, to understand how it was possible that in that 
city, which was very great in extent at the time, 
a large number of his followers could congregate, 
and even fortify themselves. The Chronicle men- 
tions the fact that, prior to Cyrus's appearing in 



378 Light on the Old Testament 

person, the gates of Esagila were guarded, and that 
no arms were taken into the sanctuary. It is not 
so likely that Belshazzar and his nobles were assem- 
bled there, but it is quite possible that they had 
fortified themselves in the great palace which 
Nebuchadrezzar had built ; in which case it would 
be the palace referred to in the Book of Daniel. 
The king's palace was separately fortified, and 
protected by walls and moats, — in other words 
it was a fortress within a fortified city. After Na- 
bonidus, who was the rightful heir to the throne, 
had been dethroned, it is altogether reasonable to 
suppose that Belshazzar' s faithful followers pro- 
claimed him king; and that he reigned in this 
peculiar way for nearly four months. 

The dating of contracts shows that the people 
did not recognize Cyrus as king until after he had 
entered the city. In contracts published by Father 
Strassmaier there are no less than twelve dated in 
the reign of Nabonidus after he was imprisoned, 
in fact up to the day before Belshazzar's death; 
and one even later. On the other hand there is 
one published contract dated in the reign of Cyrus 
which is supposed to belong to the month prior to 
his entrance in the city, but the tablet is effaced, 
and the date uncertain. The first tablet, the date 
in which his reign is mentioned, was written on 
the 24th of Marchesvan, i.e. twenty-one days after 
Cyrus had proclaimed peace in Babylon. These 
facts show that Cyrus was not generally acknow- 



Neo-Baby Ionian Inscriptions 379 

ledged to be king until after he entered Babylon, 
three and a half months after his army had de- 
throned Nabonidus. And although during this 
period the scribes continued to date legal docu- 
ments in the reign of the dethroned king, it is 
quite reasonable to believe that at least some 
regarded Belshazzar as the ruler, and also that 
tablets may be found dated during his short reign. 
(See also page 397, on the feast of Belshazzar.) 

The latter part of the Chronicle, although quite 
fragmentary, is supposed to refer to the burial of 
Belshazzar with royal honors. Cyrus, in accordance 
with his policy, caused his son Cambyses to lead the 
cortege and, according to Berosus, appointed Naboni- 
dus governor of Karmania. 

Cyrus adopted the title, ''king of Babylon, and 
king of countries. ' ' This included Anshan and Persia. 
He claimed to be the legitimate successor of his 
predecessor. Cyrus selected an auspicious time for 
his invasion of Babylonia. The people apparently 
welcomed a change, but it is somewhat surprising 
that a foreign king should have been so acceptable. 
In order to make himself secure, it was Cyrus's 
policy to cater to all classes by favoring them from 
a religious point of view, although he worshiped 
Ormuzd. He seems to have succeeded in making 
the Babylonians believe that he was more loyal 
to their deities than was Nabonidus. Foreign people 
that had been brought to Babylonia were allowed 
to return to their native lands, and take with them 



380 



Light on the Old Testament 



their gods. In this way he became the popular 
head of the kingdom. 

Unfortunately no historical records of the reign 
of Cyrus and his son Cambyses have as yet been 
found, except a fragmentary cylinder inscription 
which Rassam found in Babylon. It was written 
in the year of Cyrus' accession. In it he described 
the way he desired the world to understand his acts. 




The Dragon of Nippur. 

He claimed to have been legitimately raised up to 
take the place of Nabonidus, the impious usurper. 
He desired to have the people believe that he was 
a defender of their religion. The existence of strange 
gods brought to the capital by Nabonidus, which 
gave offense to the priests, offered him the oppor- 
tunity to show how considerate he was to foreign 
peoples by returning them to their respective shrines, 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 381 

and especially by sending the peoples held in bondage 
to their native homes. Naturally the Jews did 
not have gods but " vessels of the house of the Lord, 
which Nebuchadrezzar had brought forth out of 
Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of the 
gods" (Ezra i : 7-1 1). The inscription of Cyrus 
reads : 



of them. 



By an unrelaxing yoke he destroyed all 
At their lamentation the lord of the god was 




The Dragfon of Babvl.on. 



enraged exceedingly . . . their boundary ; the gods 
that dwelt in their midst forsook their abode in wrath 
that he (Nabonidus) had brought them into Babylon. 
Marduk before . . . He went about to all the dis- 
tricts where their abodes were established, and had 
regard for the people of Sumer and Accad who were 
like the dead ... he had compassion upon all the 
lands. In all of them he sought for [and] beheld him. 
He searched for an upright prince, the desire of [his] 



382 Light on the Old Testament 

heart, whom he took by his hand, Cyrus, king of Anshan 
he called his name ; for the kingship of the whole world 
he proclaimed his name. 

The land of Quti the whole of the Umman-manda he 
made submissive to him. The black-headed people 
whom he (the god) caused his hands to subdue, in 
justice and righteousness he cared for them. Marduk, 
the great lord, the protector of his people beheld 
joyfully [his] deeds of piety and his upright heart. 
His march to his city Babylon he commanded; he 
caused him to take "the road to Babylon; like a 
friend and comrade he walked by his side. His wide 
extended troops whose numbers were like the waters of 
a river, could not be known, with their weapons girded 
on, marched beside him. Without a fight or a battle 
he made him enter Babylon. His city Babylon he 
spared from distress. Nabonidus who did not reverence 
him he delivered into his hand. The people of Babylon 
— all of them the whole of Sumer and Accad, the nobles 
and governors submitted themselves before him, they 
kissed his feet, rejoiced for his sovereignty, their 
countenances brightened. 

The lord who by [his] assistance revived the dead, in 
distress and need he relieved (?) all— they gladly 
honored him, and observed his word. I am Cyrus, the 
king of the world, the great king, the mighty king, 
king of Babylon, king of SUmer and Accad, king of the 
four quarters [of the earth], son of Cambyses, the great 
king, king of Anshan ; grandson of Cyrus the great king 
of Anshan; great grandson of Teispis the great king, king 
of Anshan ; that enduring seed of royalty whose reign 
Bel and Nabu loved; for the happiness of their heart 
they desired his reign. When I entered Babylon peace- 
fully amidst rejoicing and shouts, in the king's palace I 
took up the seat of lordship. Marduk the great lord, 
the big hearted . . . son of Babylon .... 
me, and daily I venerated him. My vast army went 
about in Babylon peacefully. The whole of the people 
of Sumer and Accad. I did not permit to be . 



384 Light on the Old Testament 

Within Babylon and all its cities with consideration I 
looked upon the sons of Babylon .... like with- 
out heart .... The yoke which was not honor- 
able, was removed(?) I quietly relieved their sighing, 
I soothed their sorrow. Marduk the great lord rejoiced 
over my deeds of piety, and inclined graciously. To 
me Cyrus, the king who worshipped him and Cambyses 
the son, the going forth of my heart and all my troops 
and . 



The reference to the deliverance of the Jews in 
the first verse of the book of Ezra, which took 
place, "in the first year of Cyrus," is thus verified 
by this inscription. That they were allowed to take 
with them their sacred vessels (Ezra 1:7), is also 
substantiated by the fact that Cyrus returned to 
their respective shrines the deities brought into 
Babylonia. Naturally, temple utensils as well as 
statues of gods were included. That Cyrus should 
issue also a proclamation for the rebuilding of the 
temple (Ezra 1:1, 4) seems to be in strict accordance 
with his policy. Nearly two generations had passed, 
in which time there was a great increase of Jews in 
Babylonia. Doubtless many had become prosperous 
and influential. The published contracts, dated in 
the reign of Nabonidus show that many Hebrews 
had entered into contract relations with the Baby- 
lonians. It is therefore quite reasonable to think 
that Cyrus in his efforts to please this portion of 
the inhabitants would readily issue such a decree. 
And that the prophet should represent him as saying 
that, "the Lord God of heaven had given him all 




Portrait sculpture of Cyrus, at Meshed-Murghab. 



386 Light on the Old Testament 

the kingdoms of the earth ' ' (Ezra 1:2 ff ) , is exactly 
what Cyrus endeavored to have the different 
peoples believe; namely, that their respective gods 
were favorable to him. 

Cyrus made his son Cambyses a co-regent the 
year before his death (530 B. C). He gave him the 
title "King of Babylon," while he retained "king 
of countries." About this time, the Babylonians 
began to realize that they preferred one of their 
own nation to rule them; and in consequence 
dissatisfaction arose. While Cambyses was in 
Egypt ruling that country, a Median named Gomates 
proclaimed himself king, having made the claim 
that he was the son of Cyrus, whom Cambyses had 
killed. The Babylonians called him Barzia. A 
number of contract tablets have been found which 
are dated in his reign. Media and Persia, besides 
Babylonia, .temporarily acknowledged him king. 
Cambyses, who was in Egypt, turned his steps -in 
haste towards Babylonia, but when he reached 
Syria he committed suicide. 

A prince of the same house, although more Persian 
than Median or Elamitic, named Darius (521- 
486 B. C.) took the throne; and in a short time was 
able to put down Barzia, who ruled about eight 
months, as well as several other pretenders who had 
mounted thrones in various parts of the empire. 
His victory over these pretenders and the revolted 
provinces he had inscribed in their language upon 
the rocks of Behistun. He extended his empire 

25 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 



387 



by conquest until the kingdoms which acknowledged 
his rule numbered twenty-three. Two unsuccessful 
attempts had been made to invade Greece, the 
second effort coming to an issue in the battle of 
Marathon, 490 B. C. An uprising in Egypt and his 
death prevented a third attempt. 

Darius, the greatest of Persian kings was a strict 




The impression of the cylinder-seal of Darius. The trilingual inscription, in Old 
Persian, Median, and Babylonian, reads : " I am Darius, the great king." 



monotheist, worshiping Ahurmazda or Ormuzd, 
"the maker of heaven and earth, and the creator 
of man.*' On a magnificent seal, for the im- 
pression of which see the accompanying illus- 
tration, he is depicted hunting lions under the 
protecting care of his god. The inscription, which 
is written in Persian, Median and Babylonian 
reads: "I am Darius the great king." Darius I, 



388 Light on the Old Testament 

or Hystaspes, was succeeded by his son Xerxes, 
whom he appointed to succeed him. 

In the English of the Old Testament this ruler 
is known as Ahasuerus. In the inscriptions, his 
name is written Afeshiwarshu, Akshiarshu, Hish- 
iarshi, etc., which is quite similar to the Hebrew, 
Ahashwerosh. After this identification had been 
made, and the social and political conditions, as 
portrayed in the book of Esther were found to be 
those of the Persia of this time, the theory main- 
tained by certain scholars, that Esther is a work 
of fiction, lost its force. Further, the excavations 
of Dieulafoy in the mounds of Susa, where he uncov- 
ered " Shushan the palace" (Esther 1:2), discovering 
also one of the dice with which the people at that 
time " cast Pur, that is, the lot" (Esther 3:7), make 
the story so realistic, that we cannot but feel that 
it rests upon historical facts. 

The palace of Xerxes was restored by his son and 
successor to the throne, Artaxerxes I (464-424 B.C.). 
This ruler was favorably disposed towards the Jews. 
In his seventh year he made a decree empowering 
Ezra to go to Jerusalem with all those who desired 
to accompany him, and take with them all that 
they could collect, besides making extensive grants 
in order that he could put affairs in good shape, and 
offer sacrifices. During the reign of Artaxerxes 
I and Darius II, the Sons of Murashu conducted 
their business transactions in and about Nippur 
(see next chapter). More than one third of the 



Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions 389 

contracts thus far published, of these brokers, 
were drawn up with Hebrews who continued to 
live in Babylonia after the exile. 

Before his death Artaxerxes restrained those who 
were engaged in rebuilding the temple (Ezra 4: 
21-24). He was succeeded by his son Xerxes II, 
who reigned only two months when he was murdered 
by Sogdianus, an illegitimate son of Artaxerxes. 
After he had ruled seven months, he was murdered 
by another illegitimate son, who is known as Darius 
II, or Nothus (423-404) ; the same that resumed the 
rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem. 

After the thousands of undeciphered clay tablets 
that have been excavated have been forced to yield 
their contents, additional light here and there will 
doubtless be added, by the aid of which some 
historical difficulties will vanish but doubtless new 
ones will arise — and the veracity of the Old Testa- 
ment writings will be more firmly established. 



XV 

BABYLONIAN LIFE IN THE DAYS 
OF EZRA AND NEHEMIAH 

Many of the Hebrews returned to the land of 
their ancestral homes after Cyrus had liberated 
them. In the reign of Artaxerxes, about fifteen 
thousand more went to Palestine with Ezra (about 
458 B.C.). A great many of the Jews, however, 
preferred to remain in the Tigro-Euphrates valley, 
and continue to live among the Babylonians; 
some of whom had become more or less influential. 
Nehemiah had been one of these. He had made 
himself useful in the court at Susa, so that he became 
the king's butler. It was in the twentieth year of 
the reign of Artaxerxes I (some scholars say Arta- 
xerxes II), after Nehemiah had heard of the condition 
of his compatriots in Jerusalem, that he petitioned 
the king to send him to the "city of the sepulchres 
of his father." Artaxerxes appointed him civil 
governor of the district ; and with the usual body- 
guard, he dispatched him on his mission (about 

445 B. C). 

The discovery of a literature 1 in Babylonia 

1 Several thousand contract tablets of this period have been 
published by Father Strassmaier and others. 

39o 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 



391 



belonging to this very time, which throws light 
upon the social customs and manners of the people 
with whom the Hebrews had daily come in contact, 
must be welcomed by all biblical students. This 
literature is of special interest when in it are found 
many of the names of those that remained in 
Babylonia, who are the descendants of the Jews 
to whom Ezekiel preached, along the banks of the 




A dog and her puppies, in terra-eotta. 



Chebar. In these late Babylonian inscriptions we 
therefore look for that which, in a measure, illus- 
trates the life of the Hebrews themselves, in the 
post-exilic period ; for many of those that returned, 
after being liberated by Cyrus, had been born in 
Babylonia; and most of those that had returned 
with Ezra were of the fourth generation after 
Nebuchadrezzar had deported them. 



392 Light on the Old Testament 

It was in the spring of 1893, that Doctor Haynes, 
who directed the excavations of the third expedition, 
carried on by the University of Pennsylvania at 
Nippur, discovered on the western side of the canal 
Shatt en-Nil, twenty feet below the surface of the 
mound, the archive-room of a business house which 
flourished during the reigns of Artaxerxes I (464- 
424 B. C), Darius II (423-404 B. C), and the first 
part of the reign of the following ruler, namely, 
Artaxerxes II. The room was about eighteen feet 
long by nine feet wide. Only a small portion of the 
walls remained standing, the roof having fallen in, 
and the walls destroyed, doubtless not long after 
the time of the latest dated tablet. The ground 
floor of the room was literally covered with tablets 
and fragments. About seven hundred and thirty, 
including fragments, were gathered. Nothing re- 
mained to show how the archives had been kept, 
but it is presumed that they had been laid in rows 
upon wooden shelves. When the roof of the building 
fell in, the tablets were buried. 

They were simply sun-dried, having been made of 
clay, well kneaded and washed from grit. This 
increased the adhesive power of the clay, and gave 
the tablet the appearance of being baked, and at 
the same time offered an exceptionally smooth 
surface for the writing. 

The tablets, as a rule, were carefully inscribed, 
a great many of which are remarkable for the care 
bestowed upon them by the scribes. Most of these 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 393 

documents were written for the sons and grandsons 
of Murashu, namely: Bel-khatin, who transacted 
business until 437 B. C, Bel-nadin-shum, whose 
name is not mentioned after 416 B. C, Rimut- 
Ninib, and Murashu, sons of the former, and a 
Murashu, son of the second mentioned. 

A number of them were inscribed in the interests 
of their servants, or slaves, and the slaves' servants. 
It is not stated whether these servants or slaves 
transacted business for themselves, or in the interest 
of their masters. As is well known, it is quite possible 
to understand that they carried on business for 
themselves. The fact that their tablets are found 
with the archives of the family, implies perhaps 
some intimate connections in their business trans- 
actions with different members of the family. 

Each tablet is drawn up in the interest of one 
particular person. Only in a single tablet do we 
find any connection between the sons of Murashu. 
In this instance, an order presented to one of the 
sons is paid by another. Beyond the fact that 
they had a common ancestor, and the tablets were 
found together in the archive-room, there is nothing 
to show the existence of a firm, in those thus far 
published. It is possible to understand, of course, 
that these ancient brokers were carrying on a 
business which had at some previous time been 
established by an ancestor named Murashu, like 
the house of Egibi of Babylon ; or by the first named 
of the sons of Murashu, and even that a firm existed ; 



394 Light on the Old Testament 

but there is no definite information on this subject 
which has been gathered from the tablets that have 
been deciphered. 

Of great value are the brief Aramaic legends 
found on these archives. They were either scratched 
deeply into the clay, or lightly with some kind of 
an instrument. In a number of instances the remains 
of a black color in the inscription show that they 
had been scratched with some kind of a pen. In 
consequence, some are exceedingly faint, and only 
here and there a character is legible, to indicate the 
former existence of an inscription. It would seem 
reasonable to conjecture that all the tablets of these 
archives originally had Aramaic inscriptions. 

The word ''docket" has in the past been incor- 
rectly applied to these brief legends. The act is 
that of docketing, but the proper term in legal 
parlance for the writing is "endorsement." In 
other words, after the tablet was written in the 
cuneiform script in the legal language, which in 
this case was Babylonian, endorsements were written 
upon them, as for instance, a lawyer of the present 
day endorses a deed or contract, by stating its 
character, etc., as a reference note in filing the paper. 
In some instances the Aramaic endorsements describe 
the nature of the document, e.g., "The document 
of the land of the nagaraja (carpenters) which 
Khiduri, son of Khabsir gave to Ribat, son of 
Bel-£rib, for (literally 'in') rent." (See illustration 
on opposite page.) In other cases it simply records 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 395 

the name of the obligor or recipient, for example: 
"Document of Labashi, " or "Document of Akhu- 
shunu, son of Bel-etir. " 

The question arises, why were these endorsements 
not written in cuneiform, the regular script of the 




Deed with an Aramaic endorsement or reference note. 



Babylonian language, instead of Aramaic, the 
language of Armenia. Without any doubt it points 
to the fact that the endorsements were written 
in the tongue of the record keeper, or more probably 
in the language of the man in whose interest the 



396 Light on the Old Testament 

tablets were written. In other words, the Murashu 
sons, or their archivarius, were of Aramean origin, 
or Aramaic was their tongue. As we shall see 
(page 404), the country was filled with Western 
Semi ties. 

There are many known facts concerning the use 
of Aramaic in Babylonia, Assyria, and Palestine, 
which in the centuries before and after the exile 
are suggestive of a very general usage of the language. 
We can infer that Aramaic was the language of 
diplomacy in the time of Sennacherib from the 
episode which occurred between his officials and those 
of Hezekiah who were standing on the walls of 
Jerusalem, when Eliakim of the latter, said : " Speak, 
I pray thee, to thy servant in Aramaic for we under- 
stand it: and speak not with us in the Jews' 
language, in the ears of the people that are on the 
wall" (2 Kings 18:26). Recall also the edicts of 
the late period which were made in Aramaic, or 
the letter which Bishlam and the rest of his com- 
panions wrote unto Artaxerxes, " which was written 
in the Aramaic character, and set forth the Aramaic 
tongue" (Ezra 4:7). In Babylonia, bricks inscribed 
with Aramaic legends, which took the place of 
those written in the cuneiform script, have been 
found; also some in Babylonian and Aramaic, 
(see illustration, p. 363). Bas-reliefs, seal cylinders, 
weights, etc., which contain Aramaic inscriptions 
have also been found. In Assyria, as well as in 
Babylonia, many contract tablets, exclusive of 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 397 

the Murashu documents, have been found with 
Aramaic endorsements, J some dated as early as the 
time of Sennacherib. The fact that portions of the 
Old Testament written in the post-exilic period are 
in Aramaic, and that eventually it became the 
language of Palestine, would indicate, perhaps, 
that the people had learned this language during 
their exile ; although there is considerable Aramaic 
influence in the pre-exilic Hebrew literature. On 
taking these and other things into consideration in 
connection with the fact that a large percentage 
of the names found on the tablets of this period are 
West Semitic, of which a great many are Aramean, 
we become impressed with the extended usage of 
the Aramaic language throughout this region, and 
especially in Babylonia. 

The cuneiform script continued to be used until 
the third or second century before Christ, and even 
later. The scribes continued to study Babylonian 
as the literary and legal language of the country, 
and employed it in writing contracts, letters, etc., 
but it is reasonable to conjecture that the usage of 
the language was on the decline as early as the sixth 
century B. C. The tongue of the common people 
seems to have been Aramaic, which eventually 
•crowded out the Babylonian with its most difficult 
cuneiform script. The intercommercial use of the 

1 These have been gathered in a volume by Professor J. H. 
Stevenson of Vanderbilt University, entitled, Assyrian and 
Babylonian Contracts. 



398 Light on the Old Testament 

language, the fact that many Western Semites had 
emigrated to this region, besides the descendants 
of war captives and merchants who lived there, 
and that for writing purposes the Aramaic, with its 
short alphabet was infinitely easier to learn than the 
difficult cuneiform script, with its five hundred 
characters, nearly all of which have many phonetic 
and ideographic values, give us reasons for the theory 
that the Aramaic gradually supplanted the Baby- 
lonian as the spoken language of the land. 

The use of Aramaic in Babylonia offers an interest- 
ing commentary on the story of Belshazzar's feast. 
When commentators considered the language of 
Babylonia to be Chaldean, the same as the language 
in which post-exilic portions of the Old Testament 
are written, there was no difficulty with reference 
to the handwriting on the wall being in that tongue. 
When later it was learned that this language was 
Aramaic, and that as far as was known, it had noth- 
ing to do with the language of Chaldea (i.e. Baby- 
lonia) , and further, that the language of the country 
was the Babylonian and the script was the cuneiform, 
there seemed to be a serious discrepancy; for the 
night in which Belshazzar was slain, the hand- 
writing upon the wall of the king's palace was in 
Aramaic. But when we realize that in Belshazzar's 
time the language which the lords knew in their 
official capacity, as well as that which the average 
man very probably understood, was the Aramaic, 
we have reasons why the Chaldeans spoke to the 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 399 

king in Aramaic (Dan. 2:4), and why the inscription 
on the wall was written in that language. Doubtless 
the characters were clearly intelligible to all who 
were present, but it required a Daniel, in his pro- 
phetic spirit, to interpret them. 

The Aramaic endorsements incised or written upon 
the clay tablets are valuable also in that we are 
able by their help to improve readings of the cunei- 
form characters, especially in proper names. Through 
the study of these legends the pronunciation of 
one well known Babylonian god was determined, 
as well as the consonantal writing of another. 
The name of a god commonly called Ninib, being 
the son of Bel, and one of the patron deities of 
Nippur, is found quite frequently as an element 
in the names from that city. Few scholars, however, 
believed that the name of the god Nin-ib, which 
reading is Sumerian, was to be read the same in 
Babylonian. It occurred to me that as the god was 
prominently worshiped at Nippur the name could 
be ascertained through the medium of the Aramaic 
endorsements, if a name, compounded with the 
so-called Ninib, occurred in them. The first thing 
to be determined was, whose name should be 
expected in an endorsement written upon a contract. 
It became clear that if only one name occurred in 
a short legend, like, "Document of Labashu, " 
the name of the obligor was to be expected. Accord- 
ingly several tablets with endorsements were found, 
in which the obligor's name contained as an element 



400 Light on the Old Testament 

the god Nin-ib. In the case of two, the names were 
very poorly preserved. The reading turned out to 
be something altogether different from anything that 
had ever been suggested. After considerable study 
I came to the conclusion that the consonants of the 
name were to be read, either ' n w sh t or ' n r sh t. 
Although practically convinced that the middle 
character was W (aw) and not R(esh), I presented 
both readings with preference for the former. As 
to the vocalization of the characters, and the 




t 1<3*C/ 






/»k/->H 



So-called " Ninib " in Aramaic. 

identification of the name in cuneiform or other 
literatures, I did not offer my views, not being 
convinced of the correctness of anything which 
suggested itself to me. Another scholar followed by 
reading the characters ' n r sh h,, and regarded the 
name as identical with Nisroch of the Old Testament 
(2 Kings 19:37). This is impossible. The readings 
of all other scholars, with one exception, conformed 
either to one or the other which I had offered. 
The exception referred to, i.e., b I p r sh t=bel pirishti 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 401 

"lord of decision," is also an impossible reading. 
Others read: Enu reshtu, "the chief lord;" Enu- 
erishtu, "lord of decision;" Urashat, the feminine 
of Urash, In-ariskti, as the Semitic equivalent 
of Nin-urash ; and 'nwusht=namushtu=namurtu, 
which was regarded the same as "Nimrod" of 
the Old Testament. The latter by Professor Jensen, 
although questioned by some scholars has been 
accepted by others. Additional light on the subject 
will be heartily welcomed. 

The other deity whose name had been read 
Shadu-rabu (i.e., KUR-GAL) or Bel is written in 
Aramaic ' w r, for which 1 1 proposed the reading 
Amurru, which is the name of the land of the 
Ammorites, as well as their chief god. The name of 
the god and land is written ideographically MAR- 
TU. This foreign deity played an important role 
from early times in the Babylonian religion. In 
a volume of texts recently published by Professor 
Peiser of Konigsburg, the correctness of my theory 
was fully established. The name of an individual 
in the archives which he published is written with 
the characters read KUR-GAL (-erish), MAR-TU 
(-erish) and in an abbreviated form Amurri(-a). 
In other words, the name of the god, which is the 
first element of this name, is written in three ways, 
the last of which, taken into consideration with 
the Aramaic, shows that the others are to be read 
Amurru. 

In practically every period of Babylonian and 





Documents of the Murashfi Sons with endorsements or reference notes written in 
Aramaic. The two lower tablets contain the name of the god Amurru. 



26 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 403 

Assyrian history, the names of foreigners are 
numerous in the business affairs of the every-day 
life of the people. The land, as has been said, 
was a "veritable Babel." In the Murashu docu- 
ments we find many different nationalities repre- 
sented: Egyptians, Hebrews, Phoenicians, Ara- 
means, Persians, Cassite, etc. The fact is that more 
than one-third of the names in the Murashu ar- 
chives are foreign. Nebuchadrezzar's conquests had 
brought many captives into the country. Although 
liberated by Cyrus, many of the influential pre- 
ferred to remain in that land. The Persian rule 
which followed not only brought many officials 
and merchants into the country, but being a foreign 
rule, it naturally was more agreeable, in general 
for Gentiles. Then also the great fertility of the 
country between the two rivers was at all times 
inviting to the roaming tribes. When such conditions 
prevail, the process of amalgamation, or an adapta- 
tion to the religion of the country is more or less 
apparent. Persians and Western Semites gave 
Babylonian names to their children, e.g., the son 
of Barachel (Hebrew) was named Ninib-etir; the 
son of Baga'data (Persian) was called Bel-nadin. 
And on the other hand we find that persons who bore 
Babylonian names gave their children Hebrew, 
Aramean or Persian names, e.g., the son of Bel- 
nadin was named Barachel (Hebrew) ; the name 
of the son of Bel-abu-usur was Minyamin (Hebrew) . 
This state of affairs resulted, doubtless, from mixed 



404 -Light on the Old Testament 

marriages. In some cases, perhaps, where the names 
of captives were changed by their masters, they 
may have given their children names appropriate 
to their own nationality. We find also names with 
a Hebrew element compounded with a Babylonian 
god, e.g., Barikki-Bel. These facts explain the 
occurrence of Babylonian names in the lists of 
Hebrews in Ezra and Nehemiah, such as: Zerub- 
babel, Sanballat, Sheshbazzar, etc. 

In the vicinity of Nippur there were a great many 
settlements which bore gentilic names, for example : 
Ashkelon, Gaza, Heshbon, Bit-Tabalai, "the town 
or house of Tabalites, " etc. In other words, the 
names of towns and of tribes were transplanted 
to Babylonia with the migration or transference 
of the peoples, quite similarly as has been done in 
America by the immigrants from other shores, 
who introduced in this land the names of their 
former dwelling places, such as " Berlin, " " London ; " 
or their settlements were named after the country 
whence they came, as for instance in Philadelphia 
we have "Little Italy." 

Of special interest are the Hebrew names from 
the Old Testament, mostly from the books of Ezra 
and Nehemiah, that are found in these business 
documents: Afe-abu (=Ahab), Ammashi (=Ama- 
shai) (Aqubu) (=Akkub), Bana-Jdma (=Benaiah), 
Bali- Jama (=Bealiah), Barikki-El (=Barachel), 
Bibd (=Bebai), Bisd (=Bezai), Bana-Jdma 
(=Benaiah) Barikki-Jdma (=Berechiah) , El-khadari 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra ' 405 

(=Eliezer), El-zabadu (=Elzabad), Gadal-Jama 
(=Gedaliah), Gushuru, (=Geshuri), Kkagga (=Hag- 
gai), Khanana (=Hanan), KhananV (=Hanani), 
Khananu-Jama (=Hananiah), Khanun (=^Hanun), 
Jadikh-Jama (=Jedaiah), Jadikh-El (=Jediael), 
Matanni-Jdma (=Mattaniah) , Minakhkhim (=Mena- 
hem), Miniamen (=Miniamin), Nabundu (=Naboth) 
Nadbiia (=Nedabiah), Nakhmanu (=Naaman), 
Natanu-Jdma (=Nethaniah), Nikhuru (=Nahor), 
Paddma (=Pedaiah), Pani-El (=Peniel), Pillu- 
Jdma (=Pelaiah), Shabbatai (=Shabbethai), Sha- 
makhunu (=Shimeon), Shamshanu (=Samson), 
Shilimmu (— Shillem), Shullumma (=Solomon), 
Sikha ' (=Ziha) , Tiri-Jdma (=Tiria) , Tub -Jama 
(=Tobijah), Zabad-Jdma (=Zebadiah), Zabina' 
(=Zebina), Zabudu (=Zabud), Zimma (=Zimmah), 
Zuza (=Zaza), etc. The number of these Western 
Semitic names is especially large in this period, 
showing that there must have been a large settle- 
ment of Jews in and about Nippur at that time. 
Of special importance is the identification of the 
canal, or river, Kabari 1 with the river Chebar; on 
the'* banks of which Ezekiel, when he was among 
the captives in Babylonia, saw his famous visions 
of the cherubim (Ezek, 1:1, 3, 15; 10:15). The 
identification was first made by Professor Hilprecht. 2 

1 There is another river mentioned in the inscriptions which 
closely resembles the name, i.e., Kapiri, Cambyses 23:2, but 
the above is more probably the biblical river. 

2 See Introduction to Hilprecht and Clay, Business Docu- 
ments of Murashu. Sons, B. E., Vol. IX. p. 28. 



406 Light on the Old Testament 

Later Professor Haupt followed by interpreting 
Kabari: "The great river," and said it probably 
was identical with the present Shatt en-Nil, which 
ran through Nippur. 1 The former followed by 
stating 2 that from the beginning it "seemed natural 
to identify the Chebar " with the Shatt en-Nil which 
passed through Nippur, but that he preferred to 
withhold this theory until he could examine the 
topography of the region. The proof then offered 
for this identification in brief is as follows. First, 
the largest canal is often written ideographically 
as "the Euphrates of Nippur. " It is evident that 
only the Shatt en-Nil could have been designated 
in this manner. Second, Ndr-Kabar is the phonetic 
pronunciation of the ideographic writing, 'The 
Euphrates of Nippur, " and, therefore, is the former 
Babylonian name of the Shatt en-Nil. 

The first argument needs proof, and the second 
I do not understand, unless it means that as 
kabar means "great," and the "Euphrates of 
Nippur" ought to be the largest canal, they are 
identical. Now the fact is, in the same volume of 
inscriptions four other canals are mentioned more 
frequently. The canal of Sin is found in fifteen 
texts, the Kharripiqud or Ndr-Piqud in twelve, 
while the "Euphrates of Nippur" is only found in 
two. However, the canal "Euphrates of Nippur" 
doubtless was a large canal. It may even be the 

1 Ezekiel, Polychrome Bible, p. 93. 

2 Explorations in Bible Lands, p. 412. 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 407 

canal which passed through the city. Other in- 
scriptions in time will determine this; but if true, 
it is not to be identified with the Kabaru. Why 
not? The text in which the canal Kabaru occurs, 
mentions property, ska ultu Nippur a-di ndr Ka-ba-ri, 
"that which is from Nippur unto the Kabar canal" 
A description of property which mentions that it 
is situated between a city and a river would be 
inadequate if the river passed through the city. 
In brief, the Kabar scarcely passed through Nippur, 
but doubtless is one of the canals that passed close 
by it. 

The ideographic writing of the canal " Euphrates 
of Nippur" is Nar-Sippar, which means the "Sippar 
river." The course of the river at the present time 
is considerably to the west of Sippara, which is 
represented by the mounds known as Abu-Habba. 
The river in ancient times doubtless passed through 
or close by the city. But why is the canal mentioned 
in these texts, which is far removed from the present 
bed of the Euphrates, called the Ndr-Sippar- 
Nippuru? Professor Hommel, I as well as Mr. C. 
S. Fisher 2 call attention to the fact that most of 
the important cities of ancient Babylonia are not 
along the present rivers, but between them. It 
therefore appears that what is called at the present, 
Shatt en-Nil, is the old bed of the Euphrates. In 
this alluvial plain, which had been covered with a 

1 Geographie und Geschicht des Alten Orients. 

* The University of Pennsylvania Excavations at Nippur, p. 4 



408 Light on the Old Testament 

net work of canals, changes of this kind took place. 
Further, some maps 1 make this canal leave the 
Euphrates at Babylon. A branch seems to have 
connected the two bodies of water at that point, 
but there are excellent reasons for making the 
chief body of water, now known as the Shatt en- 
Nil run through ancient Sippara, and pass south 
to Nippur. That being true the meaning of the 
ideogram for the river doubtless was the Sippar- 
Nippur river, which, as stated, may have been the 
original bed of the Euphrates (Ndr-Sippar). 

Tel-abib, the place where the Jews lived in their 
captivity, and where Ezekiel sat with them, was 
along the Chebar. Following Tiele, instead of 
Tel-abib, "mound of the ear of corn," some read 
Tel-abub, "mound of the flood." Throughout 
Babylonia large sand dunes are seen. It is supposed 
that Tel-abub is one of these hills. It is held that 
a sand hill within sight of Nippur is the place 
mentioned in Ezekiel, because 2 Jews lived in the 
vicinity of that city; that the reports of travellers 
show that these hills are stationary; the fact that 
a large number of Hebrew antiquities are found in 
the small mounds about Nippur; and because the 
hill "lies about a mile or more to the east of the 
ancient bed of the Shatt en-Nil, a fact which agrees 
most remarkably with a statement in Ezekiel 3:15, 
according to which the prophet went from the 

1 Explorations in Bible Lands. 2 Ibidem, p. 411. 



410 Light on the Old Testament 

Chebar to Tel-abi(u)b, so that this Jewish colony 
cannot have been situated in the immediate fertile 
neighborhood of "the great canal. " But the 
Hebrew reads: "Then I came to them of the 
captivity of Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar," 
which would imply that the town lay along the 
banks of the river. If, as has been stated, Tel- 
abub is a name by which the Babylonians used to 
denote the large sand hills scattered over their 
plain, and there is no stronger evidence in the 
identification of one of these particular hills as the 
place mentioned by Ezekiel, than the fact that there 
are many traces of Hebrews having lived in this 
vicinity, it seems to me best to say that Tel-abib 
may have been near Nippur, inasmuch as the 
Kabar, which is identified with the Chebar, may have 
passed near the city; but at the same time it may 
have been on the banks of the same river, many 
miles from Nippur. 

The legal and business documents are a very 
important source of our knowledge of these times. 
At least ten thousand documents of this character 
have already reached the different museums, being 
marriage and dowry contracts; partnership agree- 
ments, records of debts, and promissory notes; 
leases of land, houses, or slaves; records of sales of 
all kinds of property, mortgages ; documents granting 
the power of attorney ; concerning adoption, divorce, 
bankruptcy, inheritance — in short, almost every 
imaginable kind of contract. Intensely realistic 




c/5 



412 Light on the Old Testament 

are the impressions gained from these private and 
legal documents. Here we become familiar with 
the doings of the every-day life of the people. We 
become acquainted with their personalities; we 
learn their wants ; their plans and the things against 
which they guarded. In their dealings with man- 




A jeweler's guarantee that an emerald would not fall out of the setting for twenty 

years. 

kind, we learn how they protected themselves against 
unseen possibilities, and how they provided in their 
contracts for the same conditions that are so familiar 
in these days. Their grasp upon the shekel was 
just as tight, if not more so, than in the present day. 
For example we find the broker charging from 20% 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 413 

to 50% usury on loans of money and grain. The 
tablets discussed in the following pages are confined 
to those found in the archives of the sons of Murashu, 
which belong to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. 1 
Different kinds of promissory notes are found 
among the archives, i.e., abstract or interest bearing 
notes; or notes with mortgage or surety clauses. 
The following record of a debt which includes a 
mortgage (always first mortgage) was given as 
security for the payment at a stipulated . time. 
The location of the estate upon which the mortgage 
was placed is properly bounded and described. 

1200 gur of dates due to Bel-nadin-shum, son of 
Murashu, are to be paid by Shamash-shum-lishir, son 
of Kidin; Shiriqtim son of Nur-mati-Sin and Labashi, 
son of Iqisha together with their conscripts of the 
khadari of the shushanu. In the month Tishri of the 
first year of Darius, king, the dates, namely 1200 gur, 
in the measure of Bel-nadin-shum in the city Mushezib- 
Ninib they shall pay. One is security for the other 
that the debt shall be paid. Their fields, cultivated 
and uncultivated, their conscripts ; on the Kharipikudu 
canal, adjoining the field of Ninib-bana and adjoining 
the field of Bel-shar-usur, which is in the town Mushe- 
zib-Ninib is held as a pledge for the dates namely 1200 
gur by Bel-nadin-shum. No other creditor has power 
over those fields until the claim of Bel-nadin-shum has 
been satisfied. (Vol. X, No. 14). 



1 The translations of several characteristic texts have been 
reproduced from my introduction to "Business Documents of 
Murashu Sons, B.E. Vol. X. The translations of the others are 
here published for the first time from Volumes IX and X. 



414 Light on the Old Testament 

The names of the scribe and ten witnesses, besides 
the date (month Aim, of the first year of the reign 
of Darius) follow also the seal impressions of two 
witnesses, and the thumb-nail marks (instead of 
their seals), of the three individuals upon whom 
the debt rested. 

A large number of the documents are in the form 
of leases. All kinds of real estate, extensive farm 
lands, canals, and water rights, herds as well as 
personal effects, were leased. The following interest- 
ing lease of fish ponds shows that the lessee, besides 
agreeing to pay a stipulated amount as rent, agreed 
to furnish the agent daily with a mess of fish. 

Ribat, son of Bel-erib, servant of Bel-nadin-shum, 
of his own free will spoke to Bel-nadin-shum, son of 
Murashu, thus : the fish ponds which are situated 
between the towns Akhshanu and Gishshu, belonging 
to Bel-ab-usur, those which are in the fields of the 
chief of the brokers; [also] the fish pools which are 
in the field of the prefect of the khinddnu; and the 
fish pools which are in the estate Natuel let me have 
for rent for one year. I will pay for the year, one-half 
of a talent of refined silver; in addition, from the 
day I am given possession of those fish ponds for 
fishing, daily, I will furnish a mess of fish for thy table. 
Thereupon Bel-nadin-shum complied with his request, 
and rented him those pools of fish for the year, for 
one-half talent of silver. For the year the silver, i.e., 
one-half talent, rent for those pools, Ribat shall pay 
to Bel-nadin-shum, and the fish for his table he shall 
furnish. From the first day of Marchesvan, year first, 
those pools are at the disposal of Ribat. 

In the presence of Belshunu and Umardatu, judges 
of the Canal Sin. 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 415 

Names of six witnesses and the scribe follow; 
also seal impressions of five witnesses, including that 





Lease of Fish Ponds in which the agent required the lessee to give him each day 

a mess of fish. 

of Rimut Ninib, son of Murasrm. It is the only 
tablet of these archives known to me which contains 



416 Light on the Old Testament 

an impression of the seal of a member of this family. 
The tablets containing receipts of amounts paid, 
or obligations resting upon others, contain their 
seal impressions, or those of the witnesses and 
judges. In this instance Rimut-Ninib acted as a 
witness. 

The following is a form of an ordinary lease of a 
house : 

The storehouse at the Sailor's gate which belongs to 
Tirakam, the son of Bagapanu he gave for the yearly 
rent of 2 gur of grain to Mannu-lushulum, the slave of 
Remu-shukun. The bareness of the walls he shall alter; 
the walls of the house he shall repair. From the first 
day of Kislev of the thirty-seventh year, monthly 
30 qa he shall pay (Vol. IX, No. 54). 

The names of three witnesses besides that of the 
scribe follow. The monthly rent, i.e. 30 qa, would 
equal 2 gur a year. In house-rentals, in addition 
to the stipulation concerning the replastering of the 
walls and the keeping of^them in repair, is usually 
found the requirement to cover the beams of the 
roof, i.e. to keep the roof, which was composed of 
brush, matting and mud, in repair. 

The sons of Murashu and those who succeeded 
them had very extensive flocks of sheep and goats. 
This is attested by the fact that about the same time 
in a certain year, a number of leases were drawn 
up with individuals, in which they received large 
herds for stock raising. The following will illustrate 
the manner of drawing up leases for such purposes. 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 417 

Akhushunu, son of Bel-etir, of his own free will 
spoke to Bel-supe-mukhur, the overseer of Arsham, 
thus : Rent me nine male sheep, twenty-seven two year 
old male sheep, one hundred and forty-four large 
bearing sheep, thirty-seven one-year old lambs, 
thirty-eight one-year old female lambs, twenty-five 
large male goats, nine two-year-old male goats, fifty 
large bearing goats, seventeen male kids, seventeen 
female kids, in all three hundred and seventy-three sheep 
and goats [Kleinvieh], white and black, the property of 
Arsham. In a year, I will give thee, as rent for those 
sheep: at the rate of one hundred (female) sheep, 
sixty-six and two-thirds (=66f%) offspring; at the 
rate of one (female) goat, one offspring; for one sheep, 
1 1 mina of wool; for one goat, f mina of sheared goat 
wool; for one bearing sheep, one dunatum; for one 
hundred sheep, one qa of butter. Allow me ten dead 
for every hundred sheep (i.e. 10%). For one dead I will 
give thee one hide and 2\ shekels of sinews. Where- 
upon Bel-supe-mukhur granted his request, and gave 
him for rent nine male sheep, one hundred and forty- 
four large bearing sheep, thirty-seven one-year old 
male lambs, thirty-eight one-year-old female lambs, 
twenty-five large male goats, nine two-year-old male 
goats, fifty large bearing goats, seventeen male kids, 
seventeen female kids in all three hundred and seventy- 
three sheep, white and black, large and small. In a 
year Akhushunu shall give to Bel-supe-mukhur at the 
rate of one hundred female sheep, sixty-six and two- 
thirds offspring for one female goat, one offspring; 
for one sheep, i^ mine of wool; for one goat, f mina 
of sheared goat wool; for one bearing sheep one 
dunatum; for one hundred bearing sheep, one qa of 
butter, as rent for those sheep. For one hundred 
sheep, ten dead Bel-supe-mukhur shall allow him. 
For one dead, he shall give one hide and i\ shekels 
of sinews. For the shepherding, folding and guarding 
of those sheep Akhushunu bears the responsibility. 
From the twenty-first day of Elul, year the eleventh, 



418 Light on the Old Testament 

those sheep are at his disposal. Those sheep shall be 
obtained from Shabakhtani, the head animal keeper, 
son of Pashai. 

Names of twelve witnesses and the scribe follow. 
Nine of the witnesses, besides Shabakhtani, left 
impressions of their seals. Akhushunu made a 
thumb-nail mark instead of his seal. On the reverse 
is found the following endorsement in Aramaic, 
"The document of Akhushunu, son of Bel-etir." 

The master in the following contract protects 
his own crop, and that of a servant, by requiring 
another servant who farmed an adjoining field, 
to agree to reimburse them in case a breach occurs 
in his canal whereby their crops are damaged: 

Bel-nadin-shum, son of Murashu who to Jakhulunu 
and Na'id-Shipaq, his servant, spoke thus: Give 
attention to your canal gates, and your sluices which 
are in the embankment of the Canal Sin, which in the 
kara are exposed, so that a breach shall not occur in your 
canals and in your sluices which are in the embank- 
ment of the Canal Sin, which reaches you oyer my 
grain field and over the rented grain field of my servant 
Akhu-litia. If a breach in it occurs and my grain, and 
the grain of the rented field of Akhu-litia are carried 
off, then as much grain as has been damaged or ruined, 
from your own, you must pay me. Whereupon Jakhu- 
lunu and Na'id-Shipaq to Bel-nadin-shum spoke as 
follows: Our canal gates and sluices that are in the 
embankment of the Canal Sin which reaches to us we 
will guard and strengthen in order that a breach will 
not occur. If a breach develops in it, as much grain 
as in it is damaged and destroyed, from our own 
we will refund thee. If a breach [develops and 
destroys the grain of] Akhu-liti and your servant, from 
our own we will refund them (Vol. IX, No. 55). 

27 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 419 

A contract made with an individual for the gather- 
ing of a harvest, with a penalty attached in case 
the work has not been done at a specified time: 

Unto the second day of the month Ab, year first 
of Darius, king of countries, the harvest [namely], 
which had been set apart as the share of Rimut-Ninib, 
son of Murashu, he (i.e. Rimut-Ninib) gave to Ninib- 
iddina, son of Ninib-etir, to gather in. If on the second 
day of the month Ab, year first of Darius, that harvest 
he has not completely gathered in, the harvest as much 
of it as should have been delivered, Ninib-iddina 
shall turn over to Rimut-Ninib from his own posses- 
sions; and there shall be nothing for him, together 
with the farmers, out of the balance of the harvest. 
(Vol. X, No. 29). 

. An agreement to gather and deliver to three 
agents a certain apportionment of dates which has 
been made : 

Dates as many as are in the assignment which is 
made to Bel-nadin-shum for the thirty-eight year 
[of Artaxerxes] to be paid by Shita' son of Nabu-danu. 
Until Nisan of the thirty-ninth year, the dates in full, 
in the measure of Bel-nadin-shum in Nippur he shall 
pay to Belshunu Shamsham Tadannu and Na'id- 
Ninib. If on that day he has not delivered the dates, 
he shall pay in full for the dates, as many as there should 
be. He shall pay at the rate of thirty gur per mina. 
(Vol. IX, No. 64). 

A number of contracts refer to partnership or 
business combinations i.e., two or more persons 
joined in some enterprise, for mutual gain. In some 
instances one of the party agreed to furnish the land 
and seed, while the other became responsible for 






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Babylonia in Days of Ezra 421 

the labor. In the contracts that follow, the son of 
Murashu furnishes oxen, irrigating machines, and 
land, while the other furnishes oxen and presumably 
labor. They agree to divide the crops equally. 

Shum-iddina son of Pukhkhuru, spoke to Rimut- 
Ninib, son of Murashu, thus: Let me put two of my 
oxen with two of thine into thy pasture lands, and 
everything, as much as in those fields grows, by our work 
of irrigation, is ours in common. Afterwards Rimut- 
Ninib complied with his request, and gave him oxen and 
seed; ox for ox, seed for seed. They have sworn by 
the king that whatsoever grows in it shall be divided 
equally among them. (Vol X, No. 44). 

In the following contract one of the servants of 
Bel-nadin-shum, son of Murashu, agrees to farm 
certain estates, for which he shall receive one-quarter 
of the crop, and for faithfulness in caring for the 
property, whemthe division is made, he shall receive 
three gur of dates and the palm-branches: 

A seed field, cultivated and uncultivated on the 

banks of the fief estate belonging to 

Zabida and Belshunu, the son of Iddina. [also to] 
Labashi and Bel-nadin, the son of Akh-iddina, to 
as many parts as there are, which with their conscript, 
the cultivated field for gardening, [and] the unculti- 
vated for cultivation, they gave to Mushezib, the servant 
of Bel-nadin-shum. Of whatsoever grows in the un- 
cultivated field, a fourth part of the crop he shall pay. 
The work under the date-palms he shall perform. 
Over the premises and the ditches he shall watch. 
• The impost of dates they shall fix for him. When the 
impost has been established 3 gur of dates and the palm 
branches they shall give to Meshezib. From Sivan 
of the 28th year for three years that field is at the 




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Babylonia in Days of Ezra 423 

disposal of Mushezib. 5 shekels of silver of the whole 
amount for their fields, for three years, they received 
from the hand of Mushezib. The one who breaks the 
contract shall pay one-half mina of silver. If he does 
not guard the premises and the ditches, [if] he does not 
do the work under the date-palm, [then] dates to the 
amount of 3 gur and the palm -branches they shall 
not pay. (Vol. I.X, No. 10). 

The names of seven witnesses and the scribe follow; 
Also the thumb-nail marks of Zabida and Bel-nadin, 
who represented the lessors. 

Several bailments are among the contracts found 
in these archives, i.e., one citizen became surety 
to another who had an individual imprisoned, that 
on his release he would not disappear. In one 
(Vol. IX, No. 57), the condition is made that he shall 
not leave Nippur without first having obtained 
legal permission. In violation of this the bailee 
forfeited the amount agreed upon. The following 
brief contract will illustrate this class of documents. 

Illindar, son of Iddin-Bel, of his own free will spoke 
thus to Lirakamma, servant (mdr biti) of Bel-nadin- 
shum: Bring forth from prison Iddin-Bel, son of 
Akhu-iddina, and let me become responsible for him. 
Whereupon, Lirakama hearkened unto him, and 
brought forth Iddin-Bel from prison, and gave [him] 
to Illindar. If he disappears, one mina of silver 
Illindar shall pay to Lirakamma. (Vol. X, No. 10). 

The following document is an agreement to 
abandon legal proceedings. By it a son of Murashu 
is granted a release for, and on account of, a claim 
for damages arising from trespass committed by 



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Babylonia in Days of Ezra 425 

the latter and his servant. The charge of trespass, 
followed by its denial and payment in consideration 
for settlement, is quite analogous to similiar trans- 
actions of the present day. 

Baga'data' the ustaribari, son of Bel-nadin, who 
spoke to Bel-nadin-shum, son of Murashu, as follows: 
The town Rabiia, from which silver was taken, 
Khazatu, and its suburbs, thou hast destroyed; silver, 
gold, my cattle and my sheep and everything belonging 
to me, all, thou, thy bond servant, thy messengers, thy 
servants and the Nippurians carried away. Where- 
upon Bel-nadin-shum spoke as follows: We did not 
destroy Rabiia, thy town, from which thy money was 
carried, and the suburbs of Rabiia ; thy silver, thy gold, 
the cattle, thy sheep and everything that is thy prop- 
erty, all I, my bond servant, my messengers my 
servants and the Nippurians, did not carry away. 
[But] Bel-nadin-shum gave to Baga'data' on conditions 
that no legal proceedings on account of those claims 
which Baga' data' and one with the other made, three 
hundred and fifty gur of barley, one gur of spelt (?), 
fifty gur of wheat (?), fifty good large jars full of old 
wine, including the bottles, fifty good large jars full 
of new wine, including the bottles, two hundred gur 
of dates, two hundred female sheep, twenty oxen, five 
talents of wool. Baga' data' received from Bel-nadin- 
shum barley, i.e., three hundred and fifty gur; spelt (?), 
i.e., one gur; wheat (?) i,e., fifty gur; jars, i.e., fifty good 
vessels full of old wine, including the bottles; dates i.e., 
two hundred; sheep, i.e., two hundred females; oxen, 
i.e., twenty; wool, i.e., five talents, he has been paid. 
There shall be no legal proceedings in perpetuo on the 
part of Baga' data', his bond servant, his messengers, 
his servants and the men of those cities, and their 
suburbs, which were entered, i.e., of Rabiia, Khazatu 
and the suburbs . . . w . . by any of them, 
against Bel-nadin-shum his bond servant, his messenger 





A release given for and on account of a claim for damages arising from trespass. 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 



427 



his servant and the Nippurians. Baga' data', his bond 
servant, his messenger, his servants and the men of 
those cities on account of that which they said con- 
cerning Rabiia, Khazatu, the suburbs of Rabiia, and 
everything pertaining to that property, none of them 




Wine jar lined with bitumen. Near the center is a hole into which 
a plug or faucet was inserted, around which bitumen was smeared to 
make it water-tight. 

shall bring suit again, in perpetuo, against Bel-nadin- 
shum, his bond servants, his messenger, his servants 
and the Nippurians. By the gods and the king they 
have sworn that they will renounce all claims as regards 



428 Light on the Old Testament 

those charges. Baga' data' bears the responsibility 
that no claims shall arise on the part of the men of 
those cities against Bel-nadin-shum, his bond servant, 
his messengers, his servants and the Nippurians. 

Names of ten witnesses and the scribe ; four seal- 
impressions and a thumb-nail mark of witnesses; 
also seal of Baga'data' follow. 

The further study of these documents will doubt- 
less reveal additional data of interest to the student 
of life and customs of the ancients who lived in 
Babylonia at this time, inasmuch as they represented 
not only the Babylonians but many different 
nationalities. 

The work of uncovering Babylonian cities has 
practically only been begun. The death-like stillness 
which brooded over some of these mounds is begin- 
ning to be dispelled by the activity of the Oriental 
with his spade and pick, as directed by the Occidental 
with his knowledge and skill. Extraordinary results 
have been achieved in the last few decades, yet it 
will require several more of continuous labor before 
either Nippur, where the University of Pennsylvania 
has worked for a number of years, or Babylon, 
where the German government has dug for a half 
decade, will have been systematically excavated; 
in fact, not a single site has been completely un- 
covered. Surprise upon surprise awaits the investi- 
gator. There is room in Babylonia as well as in 
Assyria for many more expeditions. Hundreds of 
ruins remain untouched. Low insignificant mounds, 



Babylonia in Days of Ezra 429 

unnoticed and unrecorded by the average explorer, 
may contain antiquities older than any yet known. 
Interest in excavations is only being awakened. 
What a decade will bring forth, in opening still 
wider the vista of those early days, and reflecting 
additional light upon the Old Testament will only 
be known at the expiration of that time. 



«i 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS 



Aba-Enlil, 44 

Abaranna, 44 

Abijjam, 24s 

Abdi-Ashirti, 279 

Abdi-khiba, 260 

Abdi-Ninib, 18 

Abi-eshukh, 145 

Abil-Sin, 145 

Abraham not historical, 126 

Abu-Habba, (Sippara) 30 

Abu-Hatab, 25, 54 

Accad, 131 

Accadian language, 90 

Adad-'idri, 318 

Adad-nirari, 322 

Addu, 19 

Adenu, 316 

Adoption of children, 212 

Agumkakrime, 99 

Ahab, 317 

Ahaz, 329, 332 

Akizzi, 259 

Akurgal, 38, 42 

Alashia, 18, 257 

Alexander the Great, 98 

Alluvial plain, 158 

Altar, 119 

Amarna tablets, 18 

Amelu, 207 

Amenenhet I, 271 

Amenophis III, 252 

Amenophis IV, 252 

Ammi-ditana, 17, 86, 128, 137, 145 

Ammi-zaduga, 128, 14s 

Amraphel (Hammurabi), 27, 125 f 

Ammurapi, 127 

Amurru, 19, 146, 223, 401 

Anatomy, Knowledge of, 160 

Aner, 143 

Anshan, 382 

Anshar, 62 f 

Antiochus I, 100 

Anu, 62 

Anunnaki, 81 

Apara, 263 

Apsu, 60 

Arabic, 51 

Arachtu, 99 

Aramaic language, 51 

Aramaic endorsements, 394 

Aramaic, the language of diplomacy, 

396 
Archeology, Credit due, 22 
Ardu, 208 
Argana, 316 
Arioch (Eri-Aku), 131 



Arnold, Doctor, 291 

Arrian, 100 

Aryan, 51 

Asharidu, 127 

Ash beds in the lower strata of Tem- 
ple, 119 

Ashirta, 18 

Ashurbanipal, 27, 49, 77, 100, 109, 
116, 120, 135, 356 

Ashur-dan, 325 

Ashur-etil-ilani, 358 

Ashur-nirari, 325 

Ashur-uballit, 256 

Askelon, 274 

Asnapper, 127, 356 

Assyria, First mention of, 97 

Awil-Nannar, 156 

Awilutum, 300 

Azariah, 327 

Azira, 259 

Baal of Tyre, 352 
Babal, 95 
Babel, 87, 89, 97 
Bdbilu, 95 
Babylon, 93, 131 

Babylonian influences upon Pales- 
tine, 18 
Babylono-Assyrian, 51 
Baby rattles, 195 
Bagdad, 19, 102 

Baked and sun-dried tablets, 180 
Baking furnace, 192 
Banks, Doctor, 24 
Barga, 316 

Barton, Professor, 47, 250, 291 
Barzia, 386 
Bath-Shar, 274 
Bel, 18, 62 
Belias, 199 
Bel-ibni, 341 
Bela, 140 

Belshazzar, 30, 376 
Belshazzar's feast, 398 
Ben-Addu-amara, 318 
Ben-Addu-natan, 318 
Ben-Hadad, 318 
Berlin Museum, 164, 175 
Berosus, 23, 71 f, 346, 348, 379 
Beth-Ninib, 18 
Bezold, Professor, 90 
Bibea, 155 
Bilhah, 222 
Birs-Nimrud, 96 
Bismya, 24, 47, 51 
Bitiliash, 290. 

431 



432 



Index of Subjects 



Bit-Gimillum, 29s 

Bit-Nin-ib, 261 

Bitumen, Use of, 80, 94 

Blau monument, 47 

Bliss, Doctor, 26 

Blood, Use of, 12 

Boat builders, 217 

Boissier, Professor, 187 

Borsippa, 96 

Breaking tablets, 179 

Breasted, Professor, 275 

Breastplate, 13 

Bronze, 54 

Brummer, Vincent, 50 

Brunnow, Doctor, 91, 189 

Bull-colossi, 14 

Burna-Buriash, 130, 256, 285, 290 

Bur-Sagali, 325 

Bur-Sin, no, 112 

Buzur-Bel, 81 

Calendar, 151 

Calneh, 48 

Calno, 327 

Cambyses, 379, 386 

Canaan, 126 

Canephorus, 164 

Cardinal points, 106 

Case tablets, 177 

Cassites, 283 

Causeway, or means of ascent to top 

of tower, 108 
Cave of Machpelah, 221 
Chaldean Account of Genesis, 59 
Chaldeans, 196 
Check-marks, 309 
Chedorlaomer, 125, 131 f 
Cherubim, 14 
Children's toys, 195 
Circumcision, 6 
Clay as writing material, 167 
Clay images, 193 
Codes compared, 233 
Colossi of Memnon, 252 
Concubinage, 209 
Confederation of powers, 136 
Constantinople, 19 
Cope, Professor, 42 
Corporal mutilation, 219 
Cosmological ideas of the Hebrews, 

123 
Craftsman, 52" 
Craig, Professor, 187 
Creation, 68, 87 
Ctesiphon, 102 
Curb for an enclosure, 119 
Cyprus, 18 

Dagon, 19 

Damascus, 125 

Dan, 125 

Dapur, 274 

Date of Hammurabi, 130 

Dating of tablets, 153 



David, s 

Death penalty, 219 

Debris, Accumulation of, 33, no 

Delitzsch, Professor, 25, 59, 77, 91, 

204 
De Morgan, M., 46, 201, 288 
De Sacy, 247 
De Sarzec, M., 24, 164 
Desertion, 211 
Diarbekir, 314 

Divergencies of the deluge stories, 85 
Divination, 10 
Diodorus, 120 
Disease of a slave, 214 
Divorce, 210 
Djocha, 47 
Dragon, 69 

Drainage systems, 191 
Driver, Professor, 95, 121 
Dungi, 164, 285 
Dungur, 43 
Dur-an-ki, 124 f 
Dur-Kuri-Galzu, 288 
Dur-Sin, 155 
Dur-sir-ilani, 132 
Dushratta, 256 

Ea, 62 

Eannatum, 38 
Earliest inscriptions, 47 
Ebarra, 30 f 
Eclipse of the sun, 325 
Eden, 14, 87 
Edingiranagin, 38 
E-dur-an-ki, 123 
Ethiopic language, 51 
Egibi, 393 
E-gigunu, 120 
E-gishshir-gal, 197 
E-gubba-an-ki, 123 
Egypt, 5, 126 
Ekron, 348 
Ekur, 112 
El-Hibba, 119 
Elam, 42, 125 
Ellasar (Larsa), 13 t, 133 
Eltekeh, 343 
E-mu-ri-a-na-ba-ak, 197 
Emutbal, 135 
Enannatum, 38 
Enlil (Bel), 92 
En-mishpat, 140 
Ennugi, 78 
Enshagkushanna, 38 
Entemena, 38, 43, 52 
Envelopes inscribed, 179 
Epilogue, to code, 205 
Eponym Canon, 327 
Erech, 42, 97, 115 
E-ri, 133 

Eri-Aku (Arioch), 133 
Eridu, 49, 115 
Eri-Eaku, 132 
Esar, 47 



Index of Subjects 



433 



Esarhaddon, ioo, 351 
Eshcol, 143 
E-shu-gan-du-du, 197 
E-temen-an-ki, 89, 102, 123 
Euphrates of Nippur, 407 
E-ur-imin-an-kt, 96, 123 
Exodus, 126 

Fara, 25, 51, 54, 84 

Fees of surgeons, 216 

Fight of Marduk and Tiamtu, 65 

Fisher, Mr. G. S., 32, 35, 102, 108, 113, 

182, 407 
Fish-pond lease, 415 
Foote, Doctor, 14 
Foreign names in Babylonia, 404 
Frederick, Doctor, 221 

Gaga, 63 

Gamaru, 15 

Gate of temple, 109 

Gazri (Gezer), 261 

Geere, Mr. V., 84 

Genesis, 14th Chapter, 126 

Geography of Palestine, New, 263 

German Oriental Society, 25 

Gezer, 265 

Gilgamesh, 49, 56, 77, 86 

Gilukhepa, 252 

Gimil- Marduk, 155 

Gimil-Sin, 197 

Gimti (Gath), 261 

Girsu, 89 

Gomates, 386 

Gray, Doctor, 245 

Greece and Rome, 2 

Gudea, 17, 62, 113, 116 

Gunkel, Professor, 59, 69, 71 

Gutters around the ziggurrat, 160 

Habbatu, 264 

Habiri, 258 

Habiraeans, 265 

Halevy, Professor, 90 

Halqat, abada, 263 

Hammu, 128 ■ 

Hammurabi, 17, 97, 127; Date of, 130; 

Letters of, 151; Piety of, 152 
Hammurabi-il(u), 129 
Harran, 195, 199 f 
Harper, Professor R. F., 221, 222 
Harri, 263 

Haupt, Professor, 10, 13, 90, 91, 406 
Haynes, Doctor, 30, 34, 38, 56, 104, 

106, 108, 115, 120, 183, 290, 289, 

294 
Hazael, 34, 319 
Hazatu, 266 
Heber, 265 
Helm, Professor, 54 
Herodotus, 102, 104, 106 
Hezekiah, 241,339 
Hillah, 96, 102 
Hilprecht, Professor, 35, 42, 44, 84, 



108, 115, 120, i87f, 192, 242, 284, 

405 
Hinke, Professor, 121 
Hirom, 328 

Historical geography, 5 
Hit, 95 

Hittites, 21, 261 
Hommel, Professor, 47, 90, 91, 120, 

142, 196, 407 
Hobah, 125 

Hoffman, E. A., Collection, 47, 187 
Horam, 280. - , . . . 
Hoshen mishpat, 13 
Hronzy, Dr., 244 
Humbani-gash, 337 
Humri, 266 
Hyksos,, 283 

Ibadid, 338 . , 

Ibni-sharru, 56 
Incantation tablet, 50 
Inner-court of temple, 112 
Inscriptions, 147 
Ipira, 263 
Irkhuleni, 315 
Isaiah, 314 
Ishme-Dagan, 19 
Ishtar, 18 
Isin, 115 

Jacob, 9 

Jama, Names with, 244. 

Japakhi-Addi, 259 

Jastrow, Professor, 10, 49, 59, 60, 62, 
91, 242 

Jau-bi'di, 338 

Jau(m)-ilu, 239 

Ja-ve-ilu, 235 

Jensen, Professor, 59, 77, 90, 401 

Jeremias, Dr. A., 59, 77, 257 

Jeroboam II, 324 f 
J Jethro, 231 f 
i Joel, 238 

Johns, Rev. C. H. W., 166, 221 

Joseph, 10 

Jeweler's guarantee, 412 

Judge, Office of, 217 

Judgment, 13 

Kadashman-Bel I, 254, 284, 288, 290 
Kadashman-Turgu, 33 f, 27 f, 116, 

285, 288 
Kadesh, 140 
Kalbia, 29s 
Kaldu, 196 
Karnak, 272 
Khabour, 337 
Khani, 99 
Khanni, 260 
Khayapa, 338 
Khu-en-Aten, 253 
Khunnubi, 295 
Kimtu, 128 
Kinahni, Kinahhi, 264 



434 



Index of Subjects 



King, Mr. L. W., 57, 59, 68, 149, 187 
Kingu, 61, 65 
Kish, 38, 42, 45 f 
Ki-shag-gul-la Bur-Sin, no 
Kissians, 283 

Koldewey, Doctor, 119, 120 
Kudur, 131 
Kudur- Bel, 290 
Kuri-Galzu, 256, 284 f, 290 
Kudur- Lakhgumal, 132 
Kudur-Mabug, 17, 132 f, 136 f, 164 
Kudur-Nankhundi, 115, 132, 135, 199, 
286 

Lachish, 26 

Lagamar, 132 

Lagash (Telloh or Shirpurla), 92 

Lapidaries, 55 

Larsa (Ellasar), 42, 123 f, 131, 133 

Lathe, 162 

Layard, 321 

Leave of absence, 304 

Legal documents, 410 

Lehman, Professor, 32 

Lenormant, Professor, 90 

Letters, 154, 179 

hex talionis, 219, 224 

Leviathan, 69 f 

Library of the Temple School, 186 

Limmu-Bel-illatua, 154 

Literature, The great antiquity of 

Babylonian, 48 
Loftus, 25 
Lot, 126 
Love letter, 155 
Lugal-ezen, 44 
Lugal-kigubnidudu, 44, 196 
Lugal-kisalsi, 44, 196 
Lugal-shag-Engur, 38 
Lugal-zaggisj, 44, 138, 196 
Lyon, Professor, 205 

Magan, 160 
Mamre, 143 
Manasseh, 354 
Manishtusu, 46 
Marduk, 60 

Marduk-zakir-shum, 339 
Marriage contract, 209 
Marriage portion, 210 
Marsiman, 338 
Medicine, 216 
Medina, 162 
Melchizedek, 125 
Melukhkha, 162 
Memphite sculptor, 160 
Menahem, 325, 328 f 
Merneptah, 275 
Merodach-baladan, 339 
Merom, 274 
Mesilim, 46 

Messerschmidt, Dr. L., 172 
Meyer, Edouard, 92, 119 
Milkilu, 261 



Minaean, 147 
Moore, Professor, 10 
Moritz, 119 
Moses, 238 
Moabitic dialect, 147 
Money-lenders, 151 
Montgomery, Professor, 241 
Mt. Nebo, 18 
Mt. Sinai, 18 
Mugayyar, 196 

Muller, Professor W. Max, 257, 275 
Multiplication tables, 118 
Murashu Sons of Nippur, 394 
Museum of the University of Penn- 
sylvania, 138 
Musical instruments, 164 
Muskhenu, 207 

Nabonidus, 30 f, 130 

Nabopolassar, 100, 123 

Nabu-balatsu-iqbi, 276 

Nahum, 356 x ~- 

Naram-Sin, 16, 30 f., 1^7, 119, 156, 

204 
Narima or Nakhrima, 264 
Naville, Mr. Edouard, 267 
Nazi-Maruttash, 287, 290 
Nebo, 96 

Nebuchadrezzar, 30, 96, 100, 123 
Nejd, 162 
Nergal, 18 
Nibmare, 252 
Nibmuaria, 252 
Niebuhr, 96 
Nimmuria, 252 
Nimrod, 401 
Nina, 92 
Nineveh, 97 
Nin-girsu, 52 
Ninib, 78, 299 
Nin-kharsag, 43 
Ninos, 120 
Nippur, 24, 97, 104 
Nizir, 82 

Noldeke, Professor, 125 f 
North American Indian, 232 
Nukhashshi, 259 
Numerals, 180 
Nur-Ramman, 135 

Oath, 218 
Office of judge, 217 
Oppert, Professor, 90 
Outer-court, 112 

Padi, 341 
Pahil, 274 
Pa-Kan'ana, 274 
Palestinian language, 51 
Parthians, 26 
Passover, 12 
Pay-rolls, 299 
Peiser, Professor, 204, 401 
Pekah, 330 



Index of Subjects 



435 



Penates, 193 

Peters, Doctor, no, 115, 186, 197, 284, 

289 
Persia, 5 
Pinches, Doctor T. L., 15,59, 132,124, 

222 
Pithom, 266 
Poeble, Dr. A., 222 
Political influence of Babylonia, 16 
Pottery objects, 190 
Post system, 156 
Pre-Sargonic kings, 44 
Prince, Professor, 91 
Priest Code, 14 
Pulu, 326 

Pupil exercises, 187 
Purpose of the tax, 292 

Quti, 382 

Ragia, 123 

Rahab, 69 f 

Rameses II, 268 

Ramman-shum-usur, 284 

Ranke, Dr. H., 141, 222, 238 

Rassam, Hormuzd, 25, 30 

Rawlinson, Henry, 130, 133, 195 

Red Sea, 70 

Reisner, Dr., 49, 187 

Remaliah, 330 

Rezin, 329 

Rib-Addi, 259, 279 

Rim-Sin, 131, 133, 148, 164, 207 

Rogers, Professor, 91 

Ruling of tablets, 180 

Sabara'in, 333 

Sabbath, Babylonian, 15 

Sacrifice, 13 

Sa-ga-as, 264 

Salem, 125 

Samaria, 333, 336 

Samse, 337 

Samsu-ditana, 145 

Samsu-iluna, 145, 283 

Sarah, 198 

Sargon I, 16, 31 f, 46, 98, no, 117, 156 

Sargon II, 334 

Sarpanitum, 98, 153 

Sayce, Professor, 59, 90, 236 

Scheil, Father, 46, 155, 184, 187, 222 

Schoolboy exercises, 186 

Scribes, 166 

Scribes' libraries, 189 

Seal cylinders, 171 

Seal impressions, 296 

Seals, 171 

Sepulcher of Bel, 120 

Semitic languages, 51, 146 

Sennacherib, 99, 330, 397 

Seleucia, 102 

Septuagint, 129 



Sety I., 275 

Shabat, 15 

Sha-bat-tum, 15 

Shadi, 263 

Shagarakti-Shuriash, 290 

Shargani-shar-ali, 334 

Shar-kenu, 334 

Shar-ukin, 334 

Shalam, 274 

Shallum, 325 

Shalmaneser II, 314 

Shalmaneser IV, 332 

Shamshi-Adad, 322 

Shasha (Shushan), 285 

Shasharu, 218 

Sheep's liver, used for divination 

purposes, 312 
Shimti-Shilkhak, 133 
Shinar, 73, 93, 127, 131 
Shirpurla, see Lagash and Telloh 
Shishak, 313 

Showbread of the Babylonians, n 
Shuardatum, 261 
Shumer, 93, 115, 131 
Shunagargid, 156 
Shurippak (Para), 78 
Shurpu-Maklu, 49 
Shushan, 285 
Sib'e, 333 
Silversmith, 52 

Silver standard in Sargonic age, 46 
Simyra, 259 

Sippara (Abu-Habba), 93, 49, 124, 182 
Sinaitic peninsula, 162 
Sin-idinnam, 135, 149 
Sin-imguranni, 298 
Sin-muballit, 135, 145 
Sin-shar-ishkun, 358 
Sin-shum-lishir, 358 
Sin-uzili, 298 
Sisiktu, used instead of a seal, 175 f, 

296 
Sive, 333 

Slavery in the Code, 213 
Slime (bitumen), 94 
Smith, 162 

Smith, Mr. George, 59, 77, 133 
Smith, Professor G. A., 141 
So, 333 
Sodom, 125 
Solomon, 5, 20 
Stevenson, Dr. J. H., 397 
Strabo, 120 

Strassmaier, Father, 291, 378, 391 
Statues of gods, 193 
Stone statues, 158 
Stylus, 168 f 
Syllabaries, 182 
Sumerian question, 90 
Sumerians, 90, 92 
Sumu-abi, 145 
Sumu-la-ilu, 98, 145 
Surgery in the Code of Hammurabi, 

216 



436 



Index of Subjects 



Suti, 279 

Sutruk-Nakhundi, 204 
Sutu, 155 

Tablets, Shape of, 180 

Tablet Hill, 183 

Tabor, 274 

Tags and labels, 158 

Takalta, 13 

Talmud, 47 

Taylor, 25 

Taylor cylinder, 341 

Taxes, 291 

Tehenu, 275 

Teispis, 382 

Tel-abib, 408 

Telloh (Shirpurla and Lagash), 116 

Temple A-E, 99 

Temple, Plan of the Babylonian, 113 

Temple Belos, 102 

Terah, 200 

Teraphim, 193: 

Terhatu, 208 

Text-book, 189 

Thebes, 358 

Theodoret, 241 

Thothmes III, 258, 271 

Thumb-nail marks, 174 

Thummin, 13 

Thureau-Dangin, Professor, 43, 44, 47, 

Tiamat, 60, 74 
Tidal, 125, 132 
Tiglath-pileser III, 326 , 
Tihom, 69 f, 72 
Tirhakah, 352 
Topographical map, 294 . 
Trumbull, Dr. H. C, 12 
Tukulti-Ninib, 99, 314 , 
Turanian languages, 51 
Turkish Government, 182 

Ubar-Tutu, 78 
Ugarit, 259 
Ukin-zer, 326 
Umliash, 153 
Umman-manda, 382 
Ummu-Khubur, 61 
Um-nuh libbi, 15 



Umu-limnu, 15 

Ungnad, Doctor, 175 

University of Pennsylvania, 104 

Ur-Mama, 44 

Ur, 8 f, 42, 87, 195 

Ur-Engur, 27, 105, 109, 113, 117, 192 

Ur-Enlil, 41 

Urim, 13 

Urfa, 195 

Ur-Nina, 38 f 

Ur-Ninib, 33 f, 115 

Urukagina, 38, 43 

Urumush, 45, 92 

Urusalim, 263 

Urzage, 38 

Use of the seal, 173 

Ussher, 23, 129. 

Ut-napishtim, 78 

Utug, 44 

Uzziah, 324 

Vale of Siddim, 125 

Vases, 162 

Vaults, 112 

Virolleand, Dr., 291 

Votaries, 214' 

Verterinary surgeon, 216 

Walls, Temple, 109 

Ward, Dr. W. H., 172 

Weights, 46 

Why tablets were encased, 178 

Winckler, Professor, 32, 222, 259 

Wine jar, 427 

Wine shops, 215 

Winkelhaken, 178 

Xerxes, 100 

Yabim, 280 
Yaphi, 280 

Zabium, 98, 145 

Zachariah, 325 

Zeus, 104 

Zidka, 342 

Ziggurrat Babili, 89, 102 

Zimmern, Professor, 14, 49, 5°, 90, 187 

Zimrida, 280 

Zoan, 271 



INDEX OF SCRIPTURE REFERENCES 



GENESIS 



TEXT 








PAGE 


I 


: 2 .... 


• ■ 72 


2 


•3 .... 


. . 16 


IO 


. 10, 48 . . 


■ • 97 


II 


:g .... 


■ • 95 


It) 






23 


: 1-20 . . . 


. . 222 


24 


: 4 .... 




30 


: 1-4 ... 




44 


: 5 ... 


10 


46 


. 17 • • • • 


. ■ 265 


47 


11 ... . 


. 271 




EXODUS 


18 


14-27 . . 


• 231 


21 


2 . . 






. 227 


21 


7 • ■ 






. 227 


21 


12, 13 






. 229 


21 


IS • • 






. 228 


21 


16 . . 






. 225 


21 


18, 19 






229 


21 


22-25 






. 229 


21 


24, 25 






. 229 


21 


26, 27 






229 


21 


28 . . 






■ 230 


21 


29 . 








• 230 


21 


32 . 








• 231 


22 


1 








• 225 


22 


2-4 








- 225 


22 


5 • 








. 227 


22 


7-9 








. 227 


22 


12 . 








. 227 


22 


14, IS 






■ 230 


29 


13 • ■ 






10 




LEVITICL 


rs 


3 : 


4 . . . . 


10 


6 : 


2-7 .... 


. 224 


9 : 




10 


18 : 


3 


7 


20 : 


10 


. 228 


20 : 




. 228 


20 : 




. 228 


24 : 


sff .... 


12 


24 '• 


20 . . 








. 229 



NUMBERS 



13 : 22 



271 



DEUTERONOMY 

TEXT PAGE 

18 : 3 12 

19 : 21 229 

26 : 5 9 

JOSHUA 

10 : 1 280 

IS : 4i 343 

19 : 28 342 

19 : 2 9 342 

19 : 44 343 

19 : 45 343 

24 : 2 200 



JUDGES 



31 



I KINGS 



6 : 1 
14 : 25 



342 

278 
313 



16 : 31 342 

17:9 .... 



342 



10 
13 
15 
15 
IS 

16 
16 
16 
17 
17 
17 
18 
18 
18 
19 
19 

20 

20 



30 



II 
15 • 
32 f 

5 

19 

20 

29. 

S 

7 
10 

3-5 
6 

24 

8 

13 ff 
26 

9 

37 
12-19 
20 . 



KINGS 

319 
321 
322 
328 
329 
330 

328, 329 
331 
332 
332 

333, 337 
337 
341 
344 
39 6 
46,352 
400 

339 
341 



I CHRONICLES 
5 : 26 326 

II CHRONICLES 
33 : 11 ff 356 



EZRA 




TEXT 


PAGE 


i : i, 4 • • • • 


• 384 


1:7 


• 384 


1 : 7-11 .... 


■ 381 


4:7 


• 39 6 


4 : 10 


• 356 


4 : 21-24 • • - 


■ 389 



ESTHER 
1:2 ....... 388 

3:7 388 



26 : 12 



74 : 13 
89:9 



JOB 



PSALMS 



70 



7i 

70 



ISAIAH 

10 : 9 327 

30 : 1-4 34i 

36 : 1 ff 344 

37 : 38 351 

51:9 7o 

EZEKIEL 
1 : 1, 3. 15 ••• 405 

3 : 15 408 

10 : 15 405 

21 : 21 10 

27 : 8 342 

27 : 9 342 

DANIEL 
2:4 399 



8:9 



AMOS 



325 



NAHUM 

3:8 358 

3 : 18-19 .... 360 



MATTHEW 



'•' 



S : 3i 



229 



437 






TUAsS 



J« 



36 



34 



Caspian Sea 




O.0.* 



_7Ust-4*sK) M</ 






H 




